Oliver Shuster

A little about Oliver

My undergraduate degree was in medicine, a lifetime ago. I eventually realised that my interest lies more in healing than in the treatment of symptoms.

We all tell ourselves stories. Healing involves the re-examination of these stories that are loaded with meaning, spelling out our relationship with ourselves and the world.

The sharing of stories is so valuable to us because it is the gentle negotiation of the story we, as individuals, carry around with us.

Since my change of direction, I have been drawn to make images that tell a story. Graphic literature is still a nascent art form despite its relatively long life: a mode of communication largely unexplored. It sits at the point of intersection of literature, fine art, story-telling, illustration, design; it is the realm of the polymath. While for me it is always important to make communications that are recognisable and understandable, it is also important to be, if not wildly experimental, then at least explorative.

I have started writing and designing film projects, finding a relatively natural transition between these two branches of visual storytelling. They both prove to be a suitable ground for the reexamination of the infinite world from the psycho-spiritual inside to the material outside.

WE ARE HERE is the first part of a graphic novel. It has been over two years in the making, completed as part of my studies in MA Illustration: Authorial Practice at Falmouth University. It tells the story of a serendipitous collision between two people who are changed forever. The images are made in oil and some collage on gesso. There is a limited edition zero print version which has been hand-bound by the artist. An Electronic copy can be viewed here.