A Forest Tale – a book project

a book project

A FOREST TALE

These images were created for an exhibition held in Milan at the Galleria Il Vicolo. It was widely visited and deeply moved those who attended.
Here are some references to the exhibition.

My intent in creating these images was to give visitors that sense of silence and immersion one experiences when walking in nature, wrapped in—one is certain of it—that mystery that does not immediately unravel. One is being watched, yet unaware of by what or by whom.

BEHIND THE SCENE

The Forest is, of course, the stage for a thousand adventures, for countless tales, both folkloric and modern. It is also a metaphor for our unconscious, where our deepest inner images reside.

These images shape us, and it is with them that we engage in dialogue—or choose to flee—when what we see, or those we encounter, do not seem particularly friendly.

My project tells something about this.

MY IDEA

Everyone, on their journey toward themselves, inevitably gets lost at some point, whether they want to or not.
The “straight path” fades into the “Dark Forest” of Dantean memory.

What we thought we knew about ourselves is no longer clear, or at least, it no longer fits. And that is where the adventure begins.

The Forest, in this story I wish to tell, is the place where these encounters take shape.
Each encounter corresponds to a character, and each character carries a message.

Below, you can see a selection of ink drawings, entirely created with black ink on Canson Moulin du Roy 300 g paper.

This project is looking for a publisher or another opportunity to come to life and find its audience.

For inquiries about the book project or for any proposals related to it, feel free to reach out at chiara@chiaradattola.com.

Actes Sud jeunesse – Naturoscope

Naturoscope

Actes Sud jeunesse

2025 – Actes Sud jeunesse (FR) Age 7+

Dedicated to the love for Nature, Naturoscope was conceived and written by Fleur Daugey. It consists of 25 infographics that describe various events or curiosities about Nature. 

On the cover, you can see the chimera, of which I’m also attaching the draft. In the coming days, I will also share the story behind the creation of this book.

Courrier International – Rawness over sugar

New Frontiers of Desire

Courrier International

The Queens of Eroticism Prefer Rawness Over Sugary Metaphors
These writers aim to seduce a female audience with a different approach.
For me, eroticism is a suspended concept.

That imagery is so vast and deeply rooted in us in many ways that it’s easy to fall into the banal.
In visual storytelling, even a single image must immediately set the atmosphere.

The choice of color is obviously essential to me.


As published in Courrier International n.1793.

First published in Internazionale magazine.

Creating an image about desire is not easy. Desire cannot be touched, and it’s easy to fall into the banal. I chose these color nuances to immerse oneself in the atmosphere of the room. 

On the right side of the image, I included a small humorous element, but in general, the image aims to spark a smile.

Internazionale | Space Debris

Space debris

Internazionale

Satellites are polluting the stratosphere

In January, over a hundred telecommunications satellites disintegrated in Earth’s atmosphere, vaporizing as they fell toward the planet at speeds of about eight kilometers per second. These controlled reentries are designed to prevent defunct satellites from cluttering valuable orbital space or crashing uncontrollably. Since 2022, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has required all telecommunications satellites to leave orbit within five years to reduce space debris, with similar regulations in place elsewhere.

However, this “planned demise” has unintended consequences. As they burn up, satellites release metal particles—such as aluminum, copper, lithium, and niobium—into the stratosphere, the atmospheric layer between 10 and 50 kilometers above Earth’s surface.

Here’s the article as published in Internazionale.

Originally published in The Economist.

MY IDEA

This is one of my favorite images I’ve ever create for Internazionale.

I have always been fascinated by comets, and as usual, I wanted to give this image a poetic touch. The little house, partially hidden in the darkness, seems almost shy as it emerges from the shadows. It is unaware of the condition of the comet passing by—a comet dirtied by various debris it has collected on its journey through space.

I love comets, and I drew inspiration from a book mentioned on Public Domain Review: The Comet Book from 1587. The book is available online through this link from the University of Kassel Library.

Internazionale: Science

INTERNAZIONALE

SCIENCE

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

Trump has withdrawn the US from the Paris Agreement. Here’s why that’s not such a bad thing.

by Laura Hood

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.»

Geothermal power is vying to be a major player in the world’s clean-energy future 

Here is the article as published in Internazionale

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

 

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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

Illustration West n.63 | Bataille d’eau #01

Batailles d'eau #01

Le Monde

These are two of the six illustrations created for the series Les Batailles d’eau, published in Le Monde – Summer Debates section.

All the images are based on six different proposals gathered by Claire Legros. They highlight the importance of water reservoirs, rivers, lakes, and the right to clean water, as well as the battles undertaken by people from various countries around the world to protect these resources and this fundamental right. One of the articles specifically addresses Bioregionalism.

 

BEHIND THE SCENE

The first of the two images depicts the resistance of the people of Cochabamba in Bolivia, who, in 2000, rose up in what became known as “The Water War” against the privatization of drinking water by multinational corporations.
The illustration I envisioned to accompany this story portrays two figures as tall as the Bolivian mountains, “embracing” and “welcoming” a river of water flowing through their hands.
This gesture does not symbolize “ownership” but “belonging”: belonging to a land, being part of it, safeguarding it, and protecting a right as a living entity. This, in essence, is the subtext of all the testimonies documented by Legros.

The image has been selected for the Illustration West No. 63 competition, organized by the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles, and will be exhibited in their gallery starting in March 2025.
 
In the previous edition, another illustration of mine, centered on the themes of friendship and the metamorphosis of social relationships, was selected.
 

You can find HERE the entire project, showcased at the Niemeyer Library in Le Havre during the “Quand la presse s’illustre” exhibition.

For this second contribution, Daniela Festa, a jurist and geographer, explores the theme of water as a Common Good, following the definition established by jurist Stefano Rodotà.
In 2007, the center-left government led by Secretary Romano Prodi appointed a ministerial commission to reform the Italian Civil Code, aiming to better categorize public goods and services, and above all, to safeguard essential resources from the wave of privatization.

Festa’s intervention highlights the crucial role of citizens and their active engagement in supporting democracy.


My contribution, in this context, reflects the idea of protecting and ensuring the responsible use of a common good.

The faucet is opened by citizens for citizens, symbolizing use and respect for all, as well as for the resource itself.

Award: 11th Hiiibrand Illustration Contest

AT NIGHT

PERSONAL PROJECT and award

MY IDEA

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

The Night is another world—one that has been told a thousand times in 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…

This project tells that story.

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.

THE AWARD

 
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.

The opening ceremony of the exhibition took place on December 14th, 2024, at the Sky Culture and Art Center in Hangzhou, China.

Thank you to the jury, and thank you to the Hiiibrand team.

嗨插画logo

11th Hiiibrand Illustration Contest

This project is looking for a publisher or another opportunity to come to life and find its audience.

For inquiries about the book project or for any proposals related to it, feel free to reach out at chiara@chiaradattola.com.

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.

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.

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.