featured artist: robbie masters
An excerpt from ‘A Void’ by Robbie Masters.
[four part comic depicting a conversation between a person looking into the night sky and an ambiguous horned animal’s face which hovers there:
1. the person: ‘where are we?’
2. the hovering face: ‘same place we’ve always been...’
the person responding ‘wait, do i know you?’.
3. the hovering face: ‘if you can’t even name me by now, i can’t help you.’
the person: ‘HELP ME? i don’t need your help!’.
4. the hovering face: ‘you don’t know where you are, hun... guess my name and i’ll help you.’
the person: ‘ohh... well i do love a mystery.’]
An introduction from Robbie.
I'm a non-binary creative based in Bristol and my pronouns are they/them. My background is in publishing and I work across a lot of different disciplines; from writing and editing, to art directing and illustrating. I’m currently the Art Director at Hub Dot - a community enterprise with a focus on storytelling. For me, there's nothing more powerful than good storytelling, and I love combining written narratives with visuals.
When in your life did you start to draw, and why?
I've been drawing and making since I can remember. As young as 5 I remember saying 'I want to be an artist when I grow up' and was always praised for my creativity - so that sort of stayed with me. There were times in my childhood when I couldn't communicate my experience because I didn't have the words. Drawing and painting became an outlet and a coping mechanism, as well as a way of expressing myself and a form of escapism.
How much does your experience of mental health feature in your work?
I think a lot of creativity comes from adversity and I've been through my fair share of it. It's hard for me to separate my work from my mental health, but this is one of the first projects I've put out there with mental health as the main theme that runs through it.
What other artists/creatives have inspired you in your creative journey? Do you find there is a lot of relatable work out there for a non-binary artist?
I'm inspired by so many artists, past and present. Matisse, David Hockney and Francis Bacon always inspired me growing up, as well as Tove Jansson (one of the first artists whose story I really connected to). Because a lot of the artists I knew of and studied growing up were cis men, I always felt more inspired by the work than the artists themselves. But, it’s so exciting to live in a time in which established and emerging queer and non-binary artists are gaining more recognition and carving out their own spaces in a pretty saturated industry. I think it's amazing for young creatives to have diverse role models and see themselves represented in the arts. It's important to recognise that we do have this amazing, unique perspective.
What inspired the title of the comic 'A Void'?
A Void is a bit of a pun, as it references the idea of being in a 'dark place' as well as the avoidant aspect of mental health. For years I felt like I had this darkness growing inside of me, and I was filing away my memories of trauma without ever dealing with them, bottling up my feelings and avoiding the inevitable boiling point. When a brain is dealing with that volume of stuff, something has to give. When I finally started therapy and dealt with the problems head-on, there was so much to cover. It felt like a jumble, but it was the best thing I ever did. I think a lot of us with mental health issues are sort of feeling our way through the dark to get to 'the other side', but it's so hard when you can't see it. I wanted to bring that feeling to life.
What can readers expect from the comic?
You can expect a bit of tongue-in-cheek humour, mystery, and some of my own perspectives. There are a couple of topics that are specific to the queer experience, but overall, I hope it will be accessible to everyone.
The comic's going to be presented as a series of Instagram posts, so each chapter will be accompanied by a written post that introduces a mental health theme and elaborates on my own experience. It's all about raising awareness in a light and accessible way. If just one person sees it and thinks 'that's what I'm going through' or 'maybe I should talk to someone', that would make me so proud.
Check out ‘A Void’ and more of Robbie’s work on Instagram.