The Kangaroo Rat is my contribution to The Ark Project book put together by the Aregntine creative studio DGPH.

The concept of the book was to “save” a variety of animal species by getting 200 artists and designers from around the world to depict a species from their region.

The book is published by IdN.

This series of spot illustrations was created for Westchester Magazine’s 2009 review of Best Places to Live. Each neighborhood reviewed was characterized by the type of residents it most appealed to (art lovers, foodies, hearty partiers, urban families, commuters, and outdoor enthusiasts).

Creative direction: Aiko Masazumi.

I made this illustration for an upcoming group show with friends at Keep Six Gallery in Toronto.

The show is called: “Happily Never After”

Happily Never After – Opening June 10, 2009 at Keep Six Gallery in Toronto.

Artists

Greg Hill
Alexei Vella
Nataly Kim
Rey Ortega
Tessar Lo
Jenna Russelle
Mike Wandelmaier
Jessica Fortner
Christian Rosekat
Chris Brett

Happily Never After

What makes a ‘Fairy Tale’? We all know one when we see it. They are stories, usually brought to us in the form of an illustrated book or lavishly animated film, that we may remember as our first true moment of escapism; the first moment a childish dream was given form. And yet, fantasy never felt so familiar, did it? Whether as moral indoctrination, or simply as a means to entertain, the Fairy Tale is something both shared by and bestowed upon us by a previous generation, at the core of which lies an inherited system of symbols, meanings, and values.

Some might even say that Fairy Tales are most people’s first experience of modern mythology. Morality could never be more clear, evil so hideously obvious or goodness so modestly endearing. Sympathies lie with downtrodden heirs and valiant heroes, the distressed damsel, a charming prince … and so on.

In a world where the validity of convention and tradition remain dubious at best, we turn to different kinds of stories, those of forgotten eras, cultures, and in so doing we uncover ‘tales’ that the principle distributors of social convention finds too obscure, too strange, or too morally ambivalent, to popularize in films and on the sides of lunchboxes.

In Happily Never After, these ‘forgotten fairy tales’ are explored by works from an eclectic group of illustrators. Employing a diversity of media, styles, and approaches, ranging from commercial sensibilities to retro forms both novel and haunting, the exhibit offers pieces that explore not only the gamut of forgotten myths and stories, but of styles and mediums. Whimsical photographed sculptures tell their tale beside the moody, antiquated textures that tell another. Through each individual exploration, these tales of morality and amusement, mythologies telling an era’s fears as well as their hopes, find rejuvenated voice in Happily Never After.

Eshwin Dhir
Contributing Artist

This illustration accompanied an article in Westchester Magazine about the various social groups and activities in Westchester County. The adjacent headline was “Love to Flock with Birds of Your Feather?”.

Creative direction: Aiko Masazumi – Westchester Magazine.

I recently illustrated and designed this poster for Random House and the Globe and Mail’s Open House Festival. It’s a new authors festival at University of Toronto, May 8th to 10th, 2009. More info at http://www.randomhouse.ca/openhouse/.

Creative direction: Lionel Gadoury - Context Creative.

This illustration titled “Squidface and The Meddler” was originally made as a submission for AWOL Gallery’s Square Foot show, here in Toronto. I wasn’t completed in time for that show, but I finished it now for the launch of my new blog with artist Jessica Fortner.

The invite for this project came via Nook, a very talented illustrator at Freestyle Collective.

Hot Off The Pesses. 17×4.5″. Graphite on Bristol with digital coloring. 2008.

Art Director: SooJin Buzelli.

Illustration for Planadviser magazine’s “Hot Off The Presses” section.

“Swing clubs and orgies were happening long before there were bowls to throw keys in. But in the days before a 2005 Supreme Court of Canada ruling, called R. vs Labaye, which overturned charges against a Montreal swingers club, it would have been hard to imagine so many middle-class straight Ontarians gathered in a space so specifically tooled for exhibitionistic, orgiastic group sex.”

- Paul Gallant, Eye Weekly Magazine

Read the full article at:

All Laid Out – Eye Weekly Magazine

Ruffled Feathers. 12.5×20. Graphite on Bristol with digital coloring. 2008.

I made this piece for a self-promotional mailer that I’m currently designing.

This piece was made as a submission for the open call to artists for Beasts! Book Two.

Tailypo was a beast from a ghost story I knew as a kid that turned out to be widely known in North America. The story tells of a hunter who comes accross a strange creature in the woods and takes its tail as a souvenir after nearly killing it. The fierce creature returns to take its revenge and reclaim its tail which it calls it “tailypo”.