Shroff’s work is figurative and occasionally surreal – utilising bright colours and humour with darker undertones. Androgynous bird characters and humans enact fantasy scenes, mostly in mundane and domestic landscapes. Her work explores a range of themes including birth, pregnancy, relationships, sexual identity and gender.

Janine Shroff was born in Bombay, India in 1983. She works predominantly using mixed media, acrylic and ballpoint-pens on heavy-weight paper. Her early influences were miniature paintings and late 80’s comic books like MAD magazine. She completed an M.A. with distinction at Central St. Martins College, London in 2007, following a B.A. at Camberwell College of Art. She was short-listed for the Mercury Art Prize in 2007 and has exhibited in group-shows in London at the Maritime Museum in Greenwich & The Mall Galleries at the ICA. She has also previously collaborated with Visual Disobedience, a Mumbai based art collective. Shroff is currently working on a new set of personal works as well as collaborating with Kadak, a collective of 7 south-asian artists. She currently lives and works in London.

Why are you an Illustrator?
I’m an illustrator because I enjoy drawing, painting and being creative. It’s more than just a profession, it’s a need to make things if not daily, then at least constantly and consistently. And attempt to improve along the way.

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Aliyah works in a way that is conceptual, engaging, and sometimes a little unconventional. She creates stirring illustrations and graphics that aim to evoke emotion.  Her User Experiences are thoroughly researched and aim to delight, excite, and most of all – work. Aliyah loves to illustrate and write children’s picture books, and breaks in-between projects are usually spent making up silly little stories and humorous monster characters.

Why are you a Graphic Designer?
I see an opportunity to design something in every little thing I do or see. I’ve grown up with a fiery passion for beautiful packaging, books and graphics. When the time came to answer the question that gets most teenagers in nervous jitters (What do you want to be when you grow up?), I knew what my answer would be. I chose the life of an artist and designer, and however hard it may get, I savour every second of it.

Did you attend school for fine art or design?
Yes, I attended Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore for my undergrad (Ba. Hons 2D Animation), and Falmouth University, England for my Masters (Authorial Illustration).

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