In early 2024 publisher Opal approached me with an idea for a picture book they developed together with renowned illustrator and author Sven Nordqvist.
Their idea was for a so-called wimmelbook (or “hidden picture book”), where 12 Swedish illustrators would each create a personal interpretation of a historical place and time, with a focus on artistic and cultural expressions from that time and place. In the words of the publisher: “An imaginative look into history and a reminder that the love of art brings us humans together, regardless of time and place”.
They asked me if I wanted to be one of the 12 illustrators, to which I of course answered YES!
The book, titled Tidsmaskinen (The Time Machine) is now out and I can finally show my contribution: an illustration of Tokugawa period Edo, Japan, in ukiyo-e style!
Here is the full list of the 12 contributing artists, with the respective time periods:
- Jens Ahlbom (Djenné, Mali Empire – 1324 CE)
- Jonna Björnstjerna (Cusco, Inca Empire – 1532 CE)
- Clara Dackenberg (Pataliputra, Maurya Empire – 126 BCE)
- Ishtar Bäcklund Dakhil (Babylon – 575 BCE)
- Elin Hägg (Pompeii, Roman Empire – 79 CE)
- Alexander Jansson (Birka, Sweden – 894 CE)
- Amanda Jonsson (Present time)
- Sven Nordqvist (Middle Ages, Europe – 1435 CE)
- Marcus Gunnar Pettersson (Han dynasty, China – 105 CE)
- Anna Sandler (Valley of the Kings, Egypt – 1463 BCE)
- Erik Svetoft (London, England -1881 CE)
- Filippo Vanzo (Edo, Japan – 1853 CE)
Each illustration is accompanied by poetry by Tuvalisa Rangström.
All illustrations are richly detailed and the wide variety of styles and approaches makes Tidsmaskinen a very unique picture book.
About my illustration
Given my passion for Japanese culture and academic background in Japanese studies, I naturally chose Edo (modern day Tōkyō), Japan, during the Tokugawa period (1603–1868), when we first were presented with the list of proposed time periods to illustrate.
When first brainstorming ideas for the illustration, the obvious choice was to try and replicate what Japanese artists were doing at the time, meaning the style of the world-famous ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world) woodblock prints.
Combining the ukiyo-e aesthetic of delicate and sparse compositions with the wimmelbook format (sprawling double-page artwork featuring richly detailed scenes with many characters and elemnts) proved to be the most challenging aspect of the whole process.
I tried to incorporate as many references, popular themes and Easter eggsfrom the cultural output of the period as I could without it becoming too messy, and I am pretty happy with the result!
Most of the artwork is totally original, but many of the individual elements are heavily inspired, and sometimes lifet and/or frankesteined together from the original prints from the Tokugawa period.
Here are some of the reference visual material I used for the artwork.
I’ve posted the (almost) whole process on my YouTube channel:
Title: Tidsmaskinen
Illustrations: Jens Ahlbom, Jonna Björnstjerna, Clara Dackenberg, Ishtar Bäcklund Dakhil, Elin Hägg, Alexander Jansson, Amanda Jonsson, Sven Nordqvist, Marcus Gunnar Pettersson, Anna Sandler, Erik Svetoft, Filippo Vanzo
Text: Tuvalisa Rangström
Publisher: Opal, 2025
ISBN: 9789172268630
