Gijs Henselmans’ illustrations: absurd, gruesome, but always hilarious

Gijs Henselmans is a freelance illustrator based in Amsterdam. The brilliance of Gijs’ work is born out of a developed perky and playful style. In the illustrator’s own words he has tailored a “sweet and disarming style posing a harsh contrast with the subjects of my work, often absurd or gruesome, a combination that results in humorous imagery.”

This absurd narrative of Gijs’ illustrations is evident across projects, from drawing an alternative Seoul with illustrator Levi Jacobs, or creating pieces influenced by city nightlife. A larger project that encompasses the illustrator’s talents is Barry Baldadig en zijn moelijke matties which translates as Randy Rascal and his horrible homies, a comic book depicting “modern children punished for their misbehaviour in horrific and outlandish ways”. Emulating a style from 19th Century children’s books, “the book serves as entertainment to parents of rebellious children”. In this sense Gijs has created the ultimate children’s book for parents, it’s frightfully entertaining for the children and comical for the parents reading it with them.

With his jagged lines or curved creations Gijs creates an alternate reality for which the medium of illustration is ideal. “Illustrating offers me the chance to translate reality to a different world with my own rules.”