The playful illustrations by Maaike Canne can be described as slightly weird (in a good way!) and often striking. Her work seems to represent a moment after a moment, resulting in a certain tension because the character is not in the frame. The Breda based artist is currently on display at Hutspot Rotterdam with a series inspired by surprising and/or mysterious advertisement cards written by customers at her local Albert Heijn. We asked Maaike about her inspiration and how she translated her findings into a refreshing series of posters and cards.
Hi Maaike. What is keeping you busy at the moment?
Art is a big part of my life and I am doing something around illustration everyday. However, I also love to look for strange and interesting objects in thrift stores and flea markets. Furthermore, I love to get lost in Google Maps for inspiration. I can easily spend an hour taking print-screens of Japanese houses, mysterious alleys or weird situations.
Where did your creative journey start?
My father is a graphic designer and my grandmother a painter. I was always surrounded with art when I was younger. As a child, I took my pencils in my little red suitcase with me and painted together with my grandmother in her studio.
I already knew from an early age that I wanted to do something with art, but did not yet know how it would take form. After my Media & Design studies, I was still missing a challenge. This is why I moved to Breda to study Illustration at the AKV St. Joost.
Can you tell us a bit about the Albert Heijn advertisement project and how it started?
It all started 2 years ago in my former student home. We started to collect surprising and/or mysterious Albert Heijn advertisement cards and hung them on the wall in our toilet. Each card had its own story and message. Some were mysterious, full of spelling mistakes or written in self made words. I loved it, but also felt guilty for taking away those cards from the Albert Heijn. I decided to select the best and give the people who wrote the cards something in return by translating them into illustrations.
