girl in red Announces Graphic Novel

WePresent, the editorial platform of WeTransfer, collaborates with Norwegian singer-songwriter girl in red (aka Marie Ulven) on Graphic novel
girl in red Graphic Novel

WePresent, the editorial platform of WeTransfer, collaborates with Norwegian singer-songwriter girl in red (aka Marie Ulven) and Will Eisner, award-winning American cartoonist, Tille Walden, to create a five-chapter graphic novel profile. The comic tells the story of girl in red’s upbringing in Horten, Norway, to becoming a worldwide music phenomenon to young queer womxn around the world.

Available exclusively on WePresent, Do you listen to girl in red? represents an innovative storytelling format alternative to the traditional artist profile, involving a number of creative collaborators to translate the artist’s personal experiences – mental health, coming out and coming of age – into a compelling graphic novel broken down into five chapters: childhood, routine, relationships, the mind, and do you listen to girl in red?

The comic started as a conversation between Ulven and London-based writer Lucy Bourton. Hours of interviews later, this written material was brought to life through Studio Ghibli-inspired illustration by Tillie Walden, known for her graphic novel memoir, Spinning, which won her an Eisner award for Best Reality-Based Work in 2018.

A creative collaboration devised by WePresent between musician, cartoonist and writer, this project comes together ahead of girl in red’s debut album, “if I could make it go quiet”, revealing her creative process and journey in an innovative format new to the artist ahead of a key milestone in her musical career.

Marie Ulven, girl in red says “It was a fascinating experience being able to translate some key moments of my life into a visual art form. It was both really reflective and a lot of fun! Working on an entirely unique concept and producing something I’m very proud to share with everyone was the most enjoyable part of the collaboration. I’m just looking forward to seeing how people react to it themselves and what they take from it. It was so much fun opening up and exploring some key parts of my life, and I hope people enjoy reading about them too.”

Holly Fraser, Editor-in-Chief of WePresent, says: “From working with photographer Tyler Mitchell to musician Lykke Li, WePresent has a long history collaborating with up-and-coming artists before they break onto the global stage. We believe girl in red’s music resonates with a generation that share their lives and experiences through social media, and we wanted to experiment with a format new to the artist on our platform to see what we could create that could celebrate this artistic intimacy.”

Tillie Walden, cartoonist says, “When I was asked to do this project I thought for a while about how to best represent girl in red’s life and experience. There’s always layers to presenting someone’s story like this – there’s her music, her persona, herself underneath all that. I hope people can step into Marie’s shoes through the stories, and can see the world from her end. I also hope people can connect the imagery with the music from the album, and enjoy their common elements.”

Do you listen to girl in red? will be available exclusively on WePresent from April 20th 2021 HERE

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