‘Drawing Europe Together’: Illustrators against Brexit

How do you illustrate the idea of Europe? A book project initiated by Gruffalo-creator Axel Scheffler collects 45 works of artists who feel the UK should not leave the EU.

Written by Stefan Dege

Great Britain’s scheduled Brexit day, March 29, is only a few weeks away, but many of Europe’s artists and intellectuals are still struggling with the upcoming event.

“The fatal decision in favor of Brexit, with which the country — it seems to me — is massively damaging itself, fills me with incredulity, pain and anger,” says Axel Scheffler. Though he was born in Hamburg, the creator of the children’s book character “Gruffalo” has been living in London for almost three decades.

Scheffler invited illustrator colleagues to put down their own vision of Europe on paper. The resulting book, Drawing Europe Together, collects illustrations by 45 artists.

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First published by Macmillan in Great Britain in November, the German version has just come out this month. Scheffler’s illustration adorns the cover of the book, showing a group of animals traversing along and carrying their own coloring pencils. They on the march to a Europe that is growing together.

Europe’s party without Britons

Illustrator Patrick George’s vision of Europe is composed of a colorful kids’ party with all sorts of different people babbling along together excitedly. It’s only the British girl who is off to the side, floating away in the sky with her red balloon. She doesn’t understand why she has to leave the party. “Following this ridiculous referendum, we’re now looking at an uncertain future,” the artist commented. George hails from Ramsgate, a seaside town in east Kent, England, where a large majority of the residents voted for Brexit.