Join illustrator Aurélia Durand’s “joyful parade to catch people’s attention”

Thread of Inspiration is a series in partnership with Pinterest which explores how inspiration can come from unexpected places. Throughout the year we’ll be inviting a host of creatives to create amazing artworks, and sharing the intriguing stories behind how they come up with new ideas. Every other month a new creative will be introduced, tasked with creating new works inspired by the artist who came before them in the chain.

For Aurélia Durand, a French illustrator whose work is equally uplifting as it is empowering, how her contribution developed for the latest instalment of our Thread of Inspiration project is quite surprising. Taking the brief off the capable and explorative hands of Berlin-based graphic designer Louise Borinski, at first the illustrator spent time thinking about how she could shape a project off the back of one so visually different from her own.

Describing their “visual universes” as quite far apart, Aurélia spent time looking into the messages of Louise’s work, hunting for one to build her perspective from. Her first reading of the brief prompted thoughts about how she could imagine a conscious world, dreaming up ideas of something futuristic. This led her to automatically think about the climate crisis, and so the illustrator began to realise that many of the gigantic hurdles we face would maybe not be so gigantic if our “leaders made conscious and wise decisions”. As a result she recognised that this is what she truly wishes for. “Today more than ever,” Aurélia explains, “we need leaders who bring us together and want to take action for more diversity and inclusivity.”

Specifically, each of these artists inspired Aurélia for their message as much as their visual sensibilities. In particular, Guernica by Picasso was chosen as the artist painted “it to represent what happened in 1937 during the Civil War in Spain, and I like that this piece is relating to a historical event, so we will not forget,” she explains. The work of art group The Guerrilla Girls was additionally a key influence; it’s a collective which has “inspired me for years,” says Aurélia. “They use humour to denounce the sexism and racism in the art world. They have been working on challenging museums and galleries to display more women since the 70s. Today, it is still a challenge. We need more people like them to change the world. They make art to challenge art!”

Each of these influences confirmed Aurélia’s hunch to create a series pieces where her message would be as impactful as her aesthetic choices. In turn the series centres around a typographic artwork by Aurélia signifying the title of the series, Conscious Leaders Lead to a Conscious World, accompanied by more illustrative pieces animated by her too.

Then animated by Aurélia, the characters form into what the illustrator describes as “a joyful parade to catch people’s attention”. Jumping and morphing into further shapes and characters in the blink of an eye, the short animations are ones you’ll find yourself watching again and again. It’s easy to find yourself visually astounded by her depiction of “people who are ready to take action to change the world into a positive place to live,” directly inspired by those protesting in aid of Black Lives Matter and the death of George Floyd.

Deciding to focus on this subject matter was an inherent decision by Aurélia, and in turn she describes the series as “reflecting one part of my artistic journey,” she tells us. In fact, the work almost signifies Aurélia coming full circle, explaining that she began to share her works online as she felt there were not enough Black artists represented, and “I feel it is crucial that people understand why I started to draw,” she says. “Our stories are told by white people and that is not normal. I think I am the one who can better tell my own stories. I had to take action and start my own thing.”