Gilad Seliktar
Gilad Seliktar was born in Rechovot, Israel in 1977. He graduated with a degree in graphic design from Shenkar College of Engineering and Design in Ramat Gan in 2005. Seliktar illustrates children’s books, publishes comics and illustrations in Israeli newspapers, in magazines for children and young adults and in cultural periodicals, and also works in cinema and television.
In 2005 he published his first comic book, »Who Are You Anyway?«, which was showcased at the Fumetto Comic Festival in Luzern in 2006, explores questions of identity and artists’ intellectual property rights. The graphic novel »Ferme 54« (2008; Eng. »Farm 54«, 2011), first published in book form in France, is based on three stories by Gilad Seliktar’s sister, the author Galit Seliktar. In the book, the siblings deal with autobiographical experiences: the childhood on a farm in rural Israel in the 1970s and 1980s, adolescence during the first Lebanon war, and entry into adulthood, which is accompanied by obligatory military service. Against the background of military conflicts and violence, this intimate book shows that the turbulent, emotional world of young people is universal. »Meshek 54«, which has been translated into five languages, was an official selection of the renowned Angoulême festival in 2009 and was named one of the best books of 2011 by »Publishers Weekly«. Gilad Seliktar’s graphic novel »Tsav 8« (2014) also addresses an aspect of the Israeli military, the reserves, which all Israelis belong to until the age of forty after completing their military duty. Reservists must train every year and can be mobilized immediately in the case of a conflict. Gilad Seliktar was drafted in the run-up to »Operation Pillar of Clouds« in the Gaza Strip, and he was ordered to travel around Israel with a driver to issue draft notices to other reservists. This very personal account, which sometimes slips into the surreal, offers an artist’s perspective on Israel, the war, and the endless spiral of violence in the Middle East. The protagonist of »Les démons de Mongol« (2009, tr. Mongol’s demons) is a true eccentric: an unemployed young man, who still lives with his uncle and grandmother, whose life is governed by obsession and neurosis. Seliktar’s illustrations are distinguished by a restrained elegance. He creates precise scenes using a sparse, minimalistic line. His use of color is also interesting, the scenes in »Tsav 8« being primarily bluish and salmon, while the large-format drawings in »Farm 54« are generally monochromatic.
According to »Design Only«, Gilad Seliktar is one of Israel’s most important artists. He teaches at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem.
Ferme 54
Editions ça et là
Bussy-Saint-Georges, 2008
[Ü: Laurence Sendrowicz]
Les démons de Mongol
Atrabile
Genf, 2009
[Ü: Raïa Del Vecchio]
Tsav 8
Editions ça et là
Bussy-Saint-Georges, 2014
[Ü: Raïa Del Vecchio]