ECUAD Student Publication

Taking it’s name from the mischievous primate companion of Emily Carr, WOO is an experimental magazine which aims to showcase student artwork, criticism and creativity. Throughout ever-evolving manifestations, WOO has remained committed to creating publications which promote curiosity and reflect the temperature of the student body. The WOO team facilitates connections with established artists, curators, and alumni with the intention of engaging and contributing to the surrounding arts community. Submissions are accepted 3 times a year for printed editions, and we encourage feedback and written submissions for blog content throughout the year.

amelie shypilova

interview by abi simatupang / photographs by parum walia

How do you describe your practice/work?

I mostly work in illustrations, and comics, and zines — so that whole sequential art industry. I’d say that what I’m trying to emulate is a lot of graphic novels, YA and fantasy; something Tillie Walden-esque is what I’m inspired by and what I want my practice to be about. I’d describe it as… well I can’t think of one word because it’s multiple words, but I’d go with one letter: A for Amelie.

What’s the story behind ‘Creation’?

I have this character, and it’s the same character in my “Mother Lavender” zine. It’s this tiger-lion-dragon-cat that has a human face, and I first came up with the design when I was in grade 12 and I was asked to do a mural for the art room in my high school. I thought to myself, “Ok I need to make something that has a meaning,” so I came up with this dragon design that represented the artist to me, because of all the different parts that it’s comprised of and the craziness of it. This character then became the symbol that I’d add to all my other works afterwards, and I just kept drawing it over and over again — the design just really intrigued me. I put it in the zine, and I even have a tattoo of the dragon now! I don’t even have a name for the character, it’s just a representation of the artist, and myself, and weirdly enough my mother, and how they’re coming together. In ‘Creation’ specifically, it’s all of these aspects of the character, dissected.

What do you hope people get when they see your work?

I want them to think “this is awesome,” “this is weird,” and I want them to cry a little bit. If I can make a book that has all those feelings for someone, that’ll be the best thing ever. Is there a working title for this theoretical book? I have lots of different projects that I’m working on right now, in terms of books. The one that I’m working on right now is called собака, which means ‘dog’ in Russian. I don’t know why, but dogs are my thing now, which is kinda funny because I started out with cats and Warrior Cats, but for a different reason; specifically I’m focusing on stuff like racing dogs and dog fighting. It’s all very emotional and there’s a lot of things you can do with that topic. And so, I’m writing a script on a short comic — собака. I’d want people to be weirded out by it, because it’s very surreal; I like surreal topics where you don’t really understand it but you can put your own meaning to it.

Any future plans?

I’m doing an Artist Alley in November! That’s my dream; if I can make work and have the work be appreciated, just from the fact that it was created and that it’s something someone can relate to or have an emotional reaction to it. That’s the best reaction you can get from somebody, just for them to care — even not care! Even just like, hate your work! That’s when you know when you did something right, when someone hates your work! That’s why I like to make weird stuff; I have 2 sides of my work, where I’ll have all my cute characters, and then I’ll have like body horror, gore, blood everywhere.

Does the word ‘Tender’ tie in your practice as an artist or designer? If yes, how?

Yeah, because everything I make is really emotionally charged. I can’t help but make “Tender” works, even if I don’t really notice it. To me, ‘Tender’ immediately makes me think of the relationships I have with people, because by far that’s the most important value to me as a human being; the relationships that I have with friends and family. For instance, I make the best work when I’m thinking of my mom, because it’s the most emotional!

Anything else you’d like people to know about you, your practice, or your thoughts on ‘Tender’?

‘Tender’ is gonna be like, the most emotional WOO issue, I bet — just because art students are emotional, haha! Graphic novels are the best things ever, everyone should read them, they’re beautiful and amazing, period.

faces of emily carr - artist spotlight