As a young girl, my favorite books where those filled with delicately drawn illustrations portraying the fantastical world of dancing princes, ogres and pretty maidens. Those drawings would become so ingrained in my mind that if I dreamed of those stories, the illustrations came to life. The work of French born artist Delphine Lebourgeois brings to mind those fanciful visionary worlds in which nothing is ordinary.
Upon first glance, Lebourgeois’ work may appear purely decorative, but the artist takes decorative elements and patterns incorporating them into the work in such a way as to stir our imagination. We enter into her surreal fairy tale, taking in the wonderful strangeness and reveling in the magic to be found.
As with most fairy tales, these works are not merely pretty pictures. There is a message in each fable, and it is left to the viewer to discern what that may be.
To see more of Delphine Lebourgeois’ work please visit her website.
All images are via the artist’s website.