Illustration: Siri Ahmed Backström's illustration is a gorgeous mishmash of texture and print

Date
9 May 2014

Swedish illustrator Siri Ahmed Backström describes herself first and foremost as a storyteller, and judging from the projects in her portfolio, of which there are no small number, it’s the fine art of creating narrative illustration to accompany a tale that she’s so good at. These images are from a book called Syskondagen, which translates as “Sibling’s Day,” and tells the story of two siblings spending a day together. The imagery is unlike anything I’ve seen before; a gloriously tactile-looking mishmash of textures, colours and shapes, with triangle print patterns on jumpers and checked tights all drawn in charmingly intricate detail. Illustration for children’s books comes into its own when you can glean the vague shape of the story without any text at all, and the fact that this is true here is an excellent testament to the quality of Siri’s work.

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Siri Ahmed Backström: Syskondagen

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Siri Ahmed Backström: Syskondagen

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Siri Ahmed Backström: Syskondagen

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Siri Ahmed Backström: Syskondagen

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Siri Ahmed Backström: Syskondagen

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Siri Ahmed Backström: Syskondagen

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Siri Ahmed Backström: Syskondagen

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Siri Ahmed Backström: Syskondagen

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About the Author

Maisie Skidmore

Maisie joined It’s Nice That fresh out of university in the summer of 2013 as an intern before joining full time as an Assistant Editor. Maisie left It’s Nice That in July 2015.

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