The Power of Boundless Imagination To Get Beyond The Horizon
A tale of pursuing that which appears distant, teaching us that patience has the ability to mature the mind
Sitting in a space between fiction and reality, the illustrations of Carolina Celas decipher complex life situations and encourage us to grasp the invisible. By gently slotting poetic text alongside serene artworks, she encourages a new mindset that looks beyond the physical vista and allows the viewer to lose themselves within her creation.
The underlining message of Beyond the Horizon is that the landscape gains greater prominence that the beings that inhabit it, thus highlighting life is larger than any present moment or concern.
Originally from Portugal but residing in London, Celas says she uses illustration as a medium “to protect and free herself from that absence of space and time.” The vastness of our planet is something that drives her curiosity, which she translated into our lucid children’s book Beyond the Horizon. By creating different fields of visions to present ‘out of reach’ scenarios in a new light, she encourages an imaginative frame of mind to face some of life’s daily challenges.
The tranquility of her work invites children and adults into her world of infinite imagination, thus reminding us that seeing a situation from another perspective may allow us to overcome obstacles. By using the horizon as a metaphor of life, Celas shows that sometimes we lose our pathway or become delayed, but by using our imagination or being patient we are able to get back on track.
Selected at the Bologna Children's Book Fair Exhibition 2019, Celas was among the 76 selected. Her ability to capture landscapes with colorful tones, while also making them appear soothing is growing into her artistic signature.
Since graduating from the Royal College of Art, London, Celas has established herself as a distinguished book illustrator. Her eye for detail, ability to combine humor with surrealism, and nonchalant approach to mental and physical barriers that made her admired. To coincide with the release of her Little Gestalten book, we decided to traverse through a selection of her illustrations featured in the book.
Available in German and English. Find out more about Carolina Celas.
