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Raysa Fontana imbues her work with the Japanese aesthetic philosophy of wabi-sabi

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The Curitiba-based illustrator is fairly new to the medium. Here, she shares how she’s grown in confidence to pursue the art. There’s a Japanese philosophy called wabi-sabi (you may have heard of it). In traditional Japanese aesthetics, it’s a world view centred on transience and imperfection. In other words, appreciating the beauty of something that is imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. It’s a way of thinking that makes a lot of sense to the Brazilian illustrator and artist Raysa Fontana who tells us, “I’ve been trying to translate this concept into my drawings (my bad if I’m perverting wabi-sabi here) but it explains what I’m trying to say beautifully.” Her colourful illustrations are a mix of children’s book nostalgia and retro magazine covers, not to mention a smidge of the vintage Japanese art form of Kimchi Okatamoto. Raysa herself admits these influences are evident in the work. But it wasn’t always illustration that occupied her creative hands. She recalls her first dabblin

Raysa Fontana imbues her work with the Japanese aesthetic philosophy of wabi-sabi The Curitiba-based illustrator is fairly new to the medium. Here, she shares how she’s grown in confidence to pursue the art. Words Jynann Ong — Date 19 October 2020 Work Illustration Nature Process There’s a Japanese philosophy called wabi-sabi (you may have heard of it). In traditional Japanese aesthetics, it’s a world view centred on transience and imperfection. In other words, appreciating the beauty of something that is imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. It’s a way of thinking that makes a lot of sense t

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