Wow! Malika Favre, do you know her? For those who don't yet have the joy of knowing Malika's works, we invite you to take a look at her instagram profile @malikafavre 😉 and we'll take you all with us during our meeting to let you discover her. Let's go !
Hey Malika! If you had to introduce yourself in a few words, what would you say?
"I am a French artist based in Barcelona, well into her thirties, professional in expatriation and travel since I was 20 and a proven wine taster. I like shapes, colors and beauty with a capital B."
How did you get there?
"With a lot of work, perseverance and above all passion. London, where I lived for 16 years, also opened many doors for me and allowed me to launch myself as an independent illustrator. My journey is a mixture of luck, instinct and seized opportunities."
Since when do you do what you do?
"Since forever in fact. I have been drawing since childhood and my friends and parents will tell you that they always knew that I would achieve my artistic career. However, I turned to science in high school and then to math sup but I I quickly realized that this world was not mine and I entered art school at 19. After 4 years of study and 5 years in a graphic design studio in London I finally started to my account as an illustrator when I was 28. I've been freelancing for 10 years now."
We perceive your commitment through your works. Can you tell us more about it ?
"To be honest, commitment is a facet of my work that has emerged quite recently and that comes from something very deep. Getting real creative freedom by collaborating with the New Yorker or Montreux Jazz has allowed me to express more personal stories and above all to engage on themes that are close to my heart such as feminism. Freedom is the master concept of my life - the one that allows me to choose how to live, who to love, with whom to work and what to draw … I think that my commitment comes from this desire to respect the choice of the other and to celebrate the differences. This is what we find in my drawings and in the stories that I tell."
How do you get your ideas?
"It's a big mystery ; ) I can't tell you where ideas come from or how they are formed, but one thing is sure: I need to socialize, meet people, travel and m fun especially to be creative. It's a balance to find between personal life and work."
How do you work? With what tools?
"I work exclusively digitally today. With a small A5 tablet and my iMac or laptop. I like the idea of being free to move around and being able to put everything in a bag to go to work from Mexico City or Paris. ."
What are your key topics at the moment?
"I had some great projects recently (some of which are still in progress): A feminine and feminist Mercè 2021 poster, a series of illustrations for the book “COMMITTED” by Charlotte Daubet which also deals with woman and her place in today's and tomorrow's society, and finally an extensive collection of covers of literary classics which should be out next spring. On a more naughty level, I recently illustrated the cover of next erotic collection by the New Zealand poet Michael Faudet, and finally, of course, there is this very beautiful collaboration with you which has allowed me to celebrate Nature in all its beauty through a label."
What inspires you ?
"People and their life stories, trips to the end of the world but also around the corner, nature in its perfection and opulence."
Optimist vs pessimist?
"Optimist, since and forever."
