RIKKE VILLADSEN

Dreams, feminism, and a fearless authorial poetics

Dreamlike journeys, landscapes of the unconscious, symbolism, tattoos, babies and ghosts create the unconventional worlds of Danish comic artist Rikke Villadsen (born 1976), who approaches comics with a strong sense of self-irony and fearlessness. With her delicate yet expressive pencil drawings, she crafts poetic narratives that move freely between reality, dreams, and absurdity, weaving together autobiographical reflections with questions of feminism, human existence, and sexuality. She made her comic book debut in 2011 with the album The Sea (Ind fra Havet), followed in 2014 by Cowboy (Et knald til), a humorous, feminist reinterpretation of the spaghetti western genre. Both albums were published in English by Fantagraphics. At the festival, Stripburger will publish the Slovenian translation of her comic The Clitoris, in which the protagonist, following an unexpected pregnancy, embarks on an introspective journey of self-discovery filled with symbols, riddles, and surreal visions.

The artist will participate in the group exhibition Holyburger at the Alkatraz Gallery, presenting original drawings from the comic created for the Stripburger anthology of the same name. On Saturday, she will take part in a discussion at the comics fair, offering deeper insight into her creative process and the themes she explores.