“At the time, I was obsessed with drawing eyes!” laughs Isobel Platt when asked about what inspired her exclusive Elephant Kiosk A3 poster print. “I like finding silliness in the everyday and making quick, thinking responses to the world around me.”
Platt created this piece—with its wide cartoony eyes—during lockdown as part of a drawing challenge: “The circumstances prompted me to make something every day, and seemingly eyes became a recurrent drawing theme when I put pen to paper… or in this case Apple pen to screen!”
The bright, mismatched eyes feel sweet and funny, but the words “Look” and “See” underneath hint at a more serious intent too. It’s a contradiction typical of the Manchester-based artist, who loves to confound expectation as she plays with colour, shape, and form.
“I like finding silliness in the everyday and making quick, thinking responses to the world around me”
Platt as teaches Graphic Design at Manchester School of Art while co-hosting Small Fry Collective who run creative events across the city, delivering projects for clients from a range of industries and disciplines. “At the moment I’m working on an exciting collaboration with Small Fry Collective and Indonesian Publishing House, Pustaka Pias, exploring minority communities across Indonesia and the UK,” she says. “I’m also working on an upcoming project with a pottery studio launching in the Manchester area which I’m excited to share in the coming months!”
