Award: 11th Hiiibrand Illustration Contest

AT NIGHT
PERSONAL PROJECT

AWARD

11th Hiiibrand Illustration Contest

It is with great pride that I announce that I am among the winners of the 11th Hiiibrand Illustration Contest, in the category of unpublished children’s book projects. I participated with my personal project, At Night, which has been taking shape since last year.

The opening ceremony of the exhibition will take place on December 14th 2024, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, at the Sky Culture and Art Center in Hangzhou, China.

BEHIND THE SCENE

I have wanted to tell the story of what happens at night for a long time.

The Night is another world, a world that has been told a thousand times in so many different ways. During sleep, for those who sleep, it’s like letting go and going beyond, even if only for a few hours. And for those who cannot sleep, it is still a ‘strange place’ where time does not exist as we know it…

My project tells this story.

MY IDEA

I greatly enjoyed creating the two illustrations for Maize Magazine, which were inspired by the thoughts of Professor Lorenzo Magnani. The project is still a work in progress, but the storytelling is complete. The contest recognizes it in the children’s book category.

So, I revisited the character and developed it further, thinking that, due to its nature, the Night somehow belonged to it. I focused on studying its movement, making it my own, and imagining its story. It doesn’t have a name yet, but I know where it lives. The building I depict next to the Moon in the upcoming illustrations is the one I live in—a place very dear to me.

The illustrations are digital.

I deeply love stories that come from within, because true changes happen only in depth. All my work increasingly aims to tell those changes in an engaging and at the same time foundational way, so that we can rewrite our “inner mythologies.”
Every one of my projects undergoes a long gestation, in contrast to our world, which craves easy, consumable products. I hope that what I create is not easily “consumable” but can be enjoyed multiple times and reveals something new each time it is seen.

Thank you to the jury, thank you Hiiibrand team.

The project is in progress and it’s seeking a publisher
or another opportunity.

DISCOVER

other projects by Chiara Dattola

Le Monde Argent – Retirement Plans

Retirement savings plan

Le Monde Argent

A Success Yet to Be Fully Realized

“The PER (Retirement Savings Plan) celebrates its fifth anniversary. While it has gained some popularity, with 25% of French assets covered, it still struggles with a lack of clarity and remains overshadowed by other financial products, such as life insurance.”

The recurring theme in these images, which vividly illustrate this issue of Le Monde Argent, is the boat.

The boat acts as a metaphor for the saver.

In creating these visuals, I set certain constraints on myself. Given how frequently this topic is discussed, I aimed to avoid redundancy.

Graphs, diagrams, and indicators have been reimagined into less instructional and more poetic visuals. Arrows and the world of charts and numbers are subtly suggested, appearing as a texture rather than a focal point.

MY IDEA

This is my favorite image.

I envisioned a nest made of arrows. While reading the text, I came across the technical term Cuckoo Effect, which refers to a financial product that aggressively supplants others. I drew inspiration from this concept, originally coined by Belgian politician Hugo Schiltz.

Here is the link to the article on Le Monde’s website.

DISCOVER

other projects by Chiara Dattola

Internazionale – The Free Dogs of India

The Free Dogs

Internazionale

The Free Dogs of India

“Despite the need to find their own food, water, and shelter — and their exposure to mostly human-made harms like traffic and cruelty — India’s street dogs live autonomous and peaceful lives.”

By Krithika Srinivasan

Here is the original article, as published in Aeon Magazine.

Here is the article in italian, as published in Internazionale.

DISCOVER

other projects by Chiara Dattola

Award: 11th Hiiibrand Illustration Contest

Books, Children's illustrations

Le Monde Argent – Retirement Plans

Press

My dear enemy

Other

Internazionale: Science

Press

Paris vous aime & Légende – No Truce

Press

Mother Earth

Press

My dear enemy

With or without?

This is the poster from the Philo Forum | This year’s Le Monde Le Mans.

The topic was challenging: Never without my enemy?
Do we always need an enemy? And what role does it play in our lives?

These were the questions I found myself asking. I began to imagine how the two sides — opponent and self — actually intertwine.

An enemy, whether internal or external, is part of who we are. I thought of it as “a common root” a shared idea, with feelings that are both connected and in contrast.

I reflected on how much our “opponent” mirrors us, and from there, my work began to take shape. In any dialogue, neither side ever remains fully itself; they inevitably influence one another.

Internazionale: Science

INTERNAZIONALE

SCIENCE

Illustrations on the topic of science, as published in Internazionale.

Researchers are questioning if ADHD should be seen as a disorder.

«It is “LIKE being inside a pinball machine with a hundred balls” says Lucy.»

UTIs make life miserable — scientists are finding new ways to tackle them.

Researchers are developing vaccines and fresh drug approaches to prevent and treat recurring infections without antibiotics.

A big advance in mapping the structure of the brain
After larval fruit-flies’, more complex brains are next.

Scientists make artificial human embryos without sperm or egg through these lab-grown embryos.

by Tibi Puiu

“The” human genome was always a misnomer.

A new repository aims to capture the genetic diversity of humanity.

Attention plant killers: new research shows your plants could be silently screaming at you. by Alice Hayward

Why emotions can feel so painful and what it means for painkillers.

by Helen Thomson

Sequencing projects will screen 200,000 newborns for disease genes.

By Jocelyn Kaiser

The dry-season malaria paradox, a bar to eradication, is solved The mosquitoes hide, and enter a state of torpor.

Has the pandemic changed our personalities? New research suggests we’re less open, agreeable and conscientious.

by Jolanta Burke

The genes of a jellyfish show how to live forever.
The problem is that it requires a complete bodily metamorphosis.

Going to a concert or painting repairs us emotionally.

Disconnecting at a concert or singing, reading a book or writing, getting lost in a museum or painting, not only serve as a way to disconnect and enjoy, but as an emotional reconstruction.

by Patricia Fernandez Martìn

Psychedelics: how they act on the brain to relieve depression.

by Clare Tweedy

People with endometriosis and PCOS wait years for a diagnosis – attitudes to women’s pain may be to blame.

By Anne-Marie Boylan, Annalise Weckesser, Sharon Dixon

Iceland targets herd immunity with controversial covid-19 strategy.
Many countries have scaled back their coronavirus restrictions, but Iceland is going further with a plan to let infections spread.

By Clare Wilson

We Accidentally Solved the Flu. Now What?

By Jacob Stern

Coming off antidepressants risks relapse, but so does staying on them.

By Clare Wilson

City-wide quantum data network in China is the largest ever built.

by Matthew Sparkes

From jet fuel to clothes, microbes can help us recycle carbon dioxide into everyday products.

by Jamin Wood, Bernardino Virdis, Shihu Hu

Group-think: what it is and how to avoid it.

by Colin Fisher

People from Mexico show stunning amount of genetic diversity.

by Lizzie Wade

Microplastics in household dust could promote antibiotic resistance Polyester and nylon seem to be common sources.

Sexual Attraction Is the Oldest Story on Earth when one cell drifts by another cell, pheromones fly.

by Ilana E. Strauss

Record $8 billion payout won’t turn back the clock on US opioid crisis.

by Clare Wilson

Brain baloney has no place in the classroom.

by Pete Etchells

Could we jump into a wormhole to save us from the world at present?

by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

Rats Have Not Changed.

We Have.

Sheltering in place produced a “natural experiment” for urban wildlife.

by Sarah Zhang

Food allergies may be on the rise because babies start solids too late.
Giving babies potentially allergenic foods early on, may reduce the risk of allergies – but many parents don’t, as that conflicts with advice to breastfeed until six months.

by Clare Wilson

Some fish are still full of mercury, for a worrying reason.

by Ed Yong

Browsing deer affect how a forest sounds.
Changes in the auditory environment as a result of herbivory, could influence how animals communicate, and may have implications for sound-based monitoring of species.

by Jeff Akst

The loneliest stars in the galaxy – certain stars have a history distinct from all the others around them.

by Marina Koren

to purchase go here

Human drugs are polluting the water – and animals are swimming in it.

by Rebecca Giggs

Schrödinger’s cat and quantum mechanics.

Natural selection may help account for Dutch height advantage.

by Carl Zimmer

Panic, depression and stress: the case against meditation.

by Miguel Farias and Catherine Wikholm

Paris vous aime & Légende – No Truce

no truce

paris vous aime &
Légende mag

For the 2024 Paris Olympics, Légende magazine invited me to illustrate a beautiful article by Laurent Gaudé.

“No Truce” is the title of the piece, in which Gaudé reflects on the significance of the Olympic truce during the ancient Greek games.

This truce extended not only to the Olympics but also to other competitions. Such events were so important that they brought “age-old enemies” and “open disputes” to a halt, creating neutral and peaceful ground. Gaudé also explores the absence of such truces in our modern world.

My illustrations, unified by a golden yellow color palette, aim to highlight the value of dedicating space and attention to collective events. These moments bring humanity closer together, fostering a shared sense of unity—something that sadly happens less and less today.

Both artworks are inspired by the aesthetics of ancient Greek paintings.

In the first illustration, located at the top right, I reimagined the concept of Ιερή Εκεχειρία—the Sacred Truce. A winged figure in my piece symbolizes this idea, welcoming both athletes and spectators.

As published in Paris vous aime and Légende magazine.

DISCOVER

other projects by Chiara Dattola

Mother Earth

MOTHER Earth

Earth Day is celebrated on April 22nd.

The image below is a tribute to our planet, highlighting the importance of cherishing and preserving it.

Displayed here are the original digital artwork and two simulated posters featuring handwritten fonts.

In 2024, Courrier International featured this piece as a complement to an article on Ayurvedic cosmetics. They were particularly impressed by the image’s freshness.

Here is the link to the article.

Hystrio – Literary characters

literary
characters
on stage

Hystrio

Theater and novel.

Here’s a revised version of your text with some adjustments for clarity and flow:

“A primary source of inspiration for prose theater, opera, musicals, and dance, due to the density of its plots, the complexity of its characters, and the stratification of its languages, the novel in Italy has often been reinterpreted by adapters, dramaturgs, and directors. These adaptations have led to performances that are either illustrative, celebratory, or, conversely, innovative. The key distinction lies in the authors’ ability to shuffle the cards, adapting the forms of literary tradition to their own personal artistic exploration.”

as published in Hystrio mag