2025 | Editorial
| Professional
- pronoun
she/her - Why did you create this work?
This work was commissioned by HenkelHiedl for a campaign for the Hans Böckler foundation's research center "Work of the Future" alongside other illustrations speculatively and critically engaging with future – and current – challenges facing workers and employers – ranging from AI to flexible and remote work models, gender parity to inclusion. I wanted to examine how working more flexibly can lead to self-exploitation and difficulties in separating your work and your life: a topic close to home! - How were your illustrations used?
My illustration was exhibited in printed form (each of the illustrations was available in a small edition) alongside eight other works at an exhibition and panel discussion "Work of the Future – what moves us and what connects us" in GE59 artworkspace in Berlin, and again at the Hans-Böckler foundation's LABOR.A 2024 conference at Cafe Moscow, also in Berlin – as well as on their website. - What materials and techniques did you use?
The illustration is hand-drawn using soft pencils, and then digitally colored. A lot of my work is deeply informed by screen-printing, and there was going to be an offset-printed edition so I ended up "manually" working directly in the CMYK separations to get a really vibrant colour palette. - Was this project commissioned?
Commissioned - Commissioner Name
Bärbl Hiedl - Commissioner Company
HenkelHiedl - Commissioner Instagram
@henkelhiedl - Who was the work commissioned for?
Hans-Böckler-Stiftung - Instagram
instagram.com/jo_el_ru/
- Biography
Jo Ruessmann is a freelance illustrator and print-maker based in Berlin. She studied Illustration at Edinburgh College of Art and recently completed a Masters degree in Visual Communication at UdK Berlin. Jo's work is narrative- and character-focused, full of vibrant colour, strange geometry and strong contrast. - Where are you currently based?
Germany
