As a child, Dana Kearley remembers an obsession with deep sea and prehistoric animals.
“I love horror and gore, and I think that came from those creatures,” says the Vancouver-based illustrator. “I love the feeling of being grossed out by something. I would look at books, be grossed out, close the book and then open it again.”
Today, her illustrations aim to give viewers the same uncomfortable feeling of both wanting to look and wanting to look away through ambiguous interactions between humans, animals and hybrid creatures.
“Sometimes I’m like, ‘Why am I drawing blood?’,” she says. “I don’t know. I kind of want to make people uncomfortable. It’s so gross, but also cool—and it can be cute too, kind of funny in a different way.”
Kearley finds inspiration in the work of Marcel Dzama, a Canadian multidisciplinary artist who is best know for drawings that seem like children’s book illustrations at first glance, but are full of surreal interactions and strange details upon closer inspection.
“He’s in his own little world, and that’s how my work is too,” Kearley explains. “It’s hard to get what’s going on in my head into words, but it’s not hard to get it into images.”
Kearley is studying part-time towards a BFA at Emily Carr University of Art and Design, majoring in Illustration and Drawing. In addition to her coursework, she has recently completed the album artwork for a split seven inch EP for Sightlines and Crystal Swells.
She also volunteers for Discorder Magazine, creating a monthly illustration for the CiTR-published music magazine.
“I like doing it because it doesn’t have to be completely literal. I listen to the bands first and then go from there,” Kearley explains, saying she’s done illustrations for some of her favourite bands: The Courtneys, Cool and most recently, Skinny Kids.
“I’m really happy with the illustration in this month’s magazine, so I’m going to continue with that idea [little human-ish creatures in leotards and masks, dangling from a hairy arm], but with different body parts,” she says.
“I really like Pussy Riot with their masks,” she continues, pointing out the many characters in her illustrations who also wear masks. “You don’t know who’s under there.”
Kearley’s work can be found in this month’s Discorder magazine, and on her website: danakearley.tumblr.com.