Anneli Olander: Girls and Ghosts

Overview

Swedish illustrator Anneli Olander's cartoon-like subjects have a lot in common with fashion models. They possess an unconventional Nordic beauty that often manifests itself in extraordinarily wide-set eyes, they can rock high-fashion accessories like feather-trimmed sunglasses or a pair of antlers, and frequently find themselves on the glossy pages of magazines.

But Olander's quirky illustrations have retained their cult appeal despite the artist herself achieving impressive commercial success in the last few years. Girls and Ghosts, Olander's Australian debut, opens at Surry Hills' Friends of Leon gallery this week as part of an exclusive exhibition presented in association with Australian Fashion Week. Detailing the illustrator's vision of beauty being found in the imperfect, the exhibition will feature 14 original works plus a series of prints in Olander's favoured mediums of watercolour and ink — which invest her doll-faced young misses with an ethereal perfection only somewhat disrupted by blotchy, black explosions or a Stygian, skeletal bird-leg.

Olander studied design and illustration at Australia's University of Newcastle before being named one of the top 100 illustrators in the world and having her work showcased in fashion magazines, books and apparel campaigns across the globe. We’re proud to have her back.

Image: Girls and Ghosts 2011