CGD

The Lawrence of Arabia Chapter 3 zine, which has been reprinted by the Fake Fake Fake publishing house, consists in the retelling of one scene from David Lean’s film: the traversal of the Nafúd desert. And the word traversal, in all its possible meanings, can also be applied to most of Lucie’s works from over the past few years.

Both of Lucie’s nominated works this year traverse and exceed the realm of habituated things. Her original book Dentro Da Tenda (published by the Portuguese Planeta Tangerina publishers) presents two siblings who reach a new land after one hundred days of traveling. They pitch a tent and night sets. Both siblings have traversed the known into the unknown where they can no longer find a way back but rather discover the benefits of not being alone in a new land. The book provides a great narrative supported by diverse and extensive artwork and also offers a unique depiction of new natural worlds – it is a great show of sensitivity and empathy unusual for all that traversal and transgression.

An underpass in Prague 5’s Jinonice neighborhood is also a place based on traversal, but is a place you don’t want to spend too much time in. Thanks to the engagement of the PRAHO! project art organization, Lucie became the artistic director of the We Should Have a Talk project, which focuses on the perception of emancipation, feminism and inclusion. Here again, we encounter traversal, this time pertaining to the perception of important issues. The illustrations meet the pedestrians half way, so to speak, making the space seem almost endless. You no longer want to leave the underpass. It becomes a safe space, a place closer to one’s heart than the world above.

We don’t have many illustrators whose work traverses our borders. Before Lucie moves somewhere, we must thank her for this short arrestation of time she provided us in 2024. She has my sincere thanks for that.

Tomáš Luňák