Going A Little Nuts For Lika

A new month, a new year and a new comic artist to entertain you lovely Ronsters. In January the newsletter will be enriched by the colourful drawings of Lika Nüssli and this will be the first of many portraits of the illustrators and artists over the coming year. This week Lika told me how she feels about her fantastic surname, (it translates as little nuts, the ones in shells by the way,) which topics are close to her heart and what is on her mind at the moment. 

As i said previously it is not just Lika’s drawings that catch the eye but also her surname. When i asked about it she said, «Most people used to make fun of my surname until I started to be proud of it. Nüssli is very illustrative and holds a secret in the shell. Lika is the abbreviation of my first name.»

Lika always wanted to be an artist and started drawing before she could walk. I asked what she likes to draw most. The answer: animated figures. Themes that particularly concern her are the contradictions of life, animals, human rights, feminism, sex. And her favourite colours? «Lemon yellow, mint, muddy pink, lime green, pale purple and vermilion.» Delicate colours for heavy themes.

My impression of Lika is that, in keeping with her name, she doesn't want to reveal too much about herself. When asked what many people don't know about her, she simply replies, «I'd like to keep it that way.» Maybe i should let her drawings speak for themselves - they are anything but restrained. Expansive, often colourful and full of fantasy, that's how i would describe her style. Lika describes it as idiosyncratic, meandering and free.

But I did get a detailed answer to one question - what are her favourite things in life? Answer: «The light in the morning, when I'm drawing, cycling home alone from Belgrade, being with my favourite people, being in contact with animals, the first kiss, building an exhibition.»

Building an exhibition occupies Lika's mind with good reason - in March she will open her exhibition «Im Taumel» at the Cartoon Museum in Basel. And at the same time, on 25 March, her new graphic novel «Starkes Ding» (Strong thing) will be published by Edition Moderne. In it, she works through the story of her father as a «Verdingkind.» (This roughly translates as child labourer.) I'm already very excited about it, and about the drawings in the newsletter. Fantastic to have you with us, Lika!