Peter Van Den Ende
The New York Times chose The Wanderer by Peter Van Den Ende (Levine Querido) as one of the 25 best picture books of 2020!
The instant I opened this magical book, I was captivated. Peter's illustrations are stunning, there is so much detail on every page of this ever evolving story. He describes it this way "Each page represents an emotion, each domain (reef, mangroves, artic, pollution, deep-sea…) represents a theme (Diversity of life, curiosity, loneliness, frustration, depression,…)"
He doesn't want to tell the reader what the illustrations meant to him when he drew them because he wants the reader to live the story in their own personal way. The paperboat hero is saying "Don't look at me, look all around me at our world."
One of the advantages of creating a wordless book is the story can go a million different directions because every reader has a unique perspective on what's going on in each illustration.
Here's the synopsis: A tiny paper boat sets off and begins its very long passage toward its home. To get there it has to travel across many astonishing, beautiful oceans, full to the brim with strange creatures and horrible monsters, swept by harrowing storms and sailing by magical ships. Will the Wanderer pick the safe path through all these deadly hazzards to find its home?
Brian Selznick of the NYT's described Peter's art this way:
"The technical aspect of the work is mind-boggling, especially the masterly crosshatching. Staring at the images, I couldn’t stop imagining Van den Ende, pen in hand, drawing each line, one after the other, creating work that seems to defy the passage of time, and all known resources of patience and imagination. Imagine Shaun Tan having an aquatic love child with Edward Gorey, from a family tree that includes Tim Burton, Salvador Dalà and Jacques Cousteau, and you’ll begin to get the idea … but not quite."
David Ouimet, well-known author of the prize-winning book I Go Quiet, had this to say:
"The young Belgian illustrator Peter Van Den Ende has created a truly unique masterpiece of storytelling in his debut picture book, The Wanderer . The unlikely hero of this wordless journey is a paper boat who travels through five oceans to an unknown destination. Van Den Ende's work recalls the intricate line work of M.C. Escher along with the imaginative playfulness of Shaun Tan's work; yet it is a singular vision in its own league. How so much emotion can be conveyed through a folded piece of traveling though wonder, danger, and hope is a miraculous achievement."
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| Wanderer Illustration |
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| Wanderer Illustration |
Sometimes I still miss my life on Grand Cayman (where I worked for 2 years) but there I would miss the gloominess of Belgium. I love autumn and winter. Close by my home there is a forest next to the river Schelde where I love going to empty my brain and escape the busy world.
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| River Schelde |
Unfortunately, there is not a lot of nature to find here. Homo Sapiens are a greedy species when it comes to territory.
Where were you living when you were 7 years old? Are they fond memories?
When I was seven, I also lived in Antwerp.
I loved being a child! I loved the adventure of it. Looking back, some events from childhood can feel like the stuff of legends now, even if it was just playing together with friends in a forest.
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| Young Peter |
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| From Wanderer |
Did you have a favorite teacher when you were young and are you still in touch with her or him?
When I was a teenager, I went to art school. Mr. Stremes must have been one of my favorite art-teachers. He wasn’t very popular with my classmates because he was difficult to convince with our work. But that’s what I love about him! Art is not easy; you can’t expect to get an applause for everything you make during your learning process. He taught me to look at my own stuff with a critical eye. Learning is about falling many times, and getting back up to do it better.
Is there a book that changed the way you look at life?
Paradise Lost by John Milton!
When I was writing my letter of resignation from my job as a nature
guide on the Cayman Islands, I was doubting about it very much. After all, I
earned good money, life was easy and I lived in paradise. I loved my job there; it was an absolute joy to do. But there is a difference between having fun and
feeling gratification. I had to come back to Belgium and try to become an
illustrator. By following this path I would lose a lot of certainty in life (I also
didn’t have a portfolio or a publisher yet) so life would become a lot harder
than living in paradise. But, I would be free! When sending my letter of
resignation I thought about the famous quote in Satan’s speech in Book 1 from Paradise Lost. “Better
to reign in Hell, then serve in Heaven." Isn’t it
better to lead a difficult life doing what gives you a deep sense of gratification,
than leading an easy life of superficial joy under the roof of a big company?
Sometimes when this job gets hard, for whatever reason, I go back to the
seemingly heroic Satan from Paradise Lost. In fact, the book lies here on my
desk. |
| From Wanderer |
Do you have a favorite children’s book and what about it makes it so?
Difficult question because the answer changes. Right now, it would be De Schepping,written by Bart Moeyaert. It was first published in 2003, and is brilliantly illustrated by Wolf Erlbruch.
It’s the first part of a trilogy and can be read by both children and adults. In this first part, Bart retells
the story of God who creates the universe while a man stands/sits beside him to
behold everything in awe. At the same time the man is questioning God’s
creation and wonders what his place between everything else might be.
It’s written in a very poetic style and makes me question my own desires in
life.
This year I had the privilege to re-illustrate the three parts together in one book,
(Het Hele Leven by Bart Moeyaert) in a more adult style.
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Is there a song, singer, or group that you listen to when you are feeling a bit down?
· Alexander Scriabin. I love his ‘Mysterium’ because it helps me to see my problems for the tiny things they often are.
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| Alexander Scriabin |
When listening to this three-part orchestral work, it feels like you are being launched naked into space. I imagine going much faster than light, passing planets, stars, and whole galaxies.
After a while your imagination takes you so far that you can imagine the fabrics of the universe. Maybe when seeing infinity, or everything that exits, from a distance I could understand it a little bit.
It doesn’t always help, sometimes the desires of the heart ask for a more practical solution.
How would you say you are different now than you were in your teens?
I have more worries now. But that’s normal, I think.
When I was a teen, I led a carefree life. I didn’t really have much of a social life back then and I was completely fine with that. So, I spent a lot of time exploring the things that fascinated me and developed my imagination. In my twenties I met one of my best friends and that made me look at my life in a different way. Having good friends became really important.
I’m grateful that my grown-up worries didn’t
take the place of my imagination. That part is still very much alive. I
always felt that my imagination was a big part of my identity. Making books
feels like I am making a clone of myself. The Wanderer is just one aspect of
it. Hopefully I can make many more books addressing other aspects, including
the bad ones (because otherwise it would be an incomplete clone).
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| From Wanderer |
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| Peter Van Den Ende |
And in a short essay…………………………
IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN
TIME
to any period from before recorded history to yesterday,
be safe from harm, be rich, poor or in-between, if appropriate to your choice,
actually experience what it was like to live in that time, anywhere at all,
meet anyone, if you desire, speak with them, listen to them, be with them.
This answer always changes! It could be somewhere in the Middle Ages or ancient Egypt. Right now I would go back to the Carboniferous period, between 298 and 358 million years ago.
It is a time long before the first dinosaurs, when the world was full of strange animals on land and under water. In that aspect I would also want to go back further in time, all the way to the Cambrium.
· I would explore both the underwater world and forests back then. Plant life was very different (prehistoric scale trees, ferns, conifers, and cycads).
· I would have to do a lot of research first. Under water I would want a general impression of the life forms there. Prehistoric cephalopods (orthocones and ammonites) would interest me the most since they are my favorite group of animals today. On land I would love to see arthropods. Back then they where a lot bigger then they are now.
It’s a strange old world without any humans and full of unseen plants and animals. It seems like a great place to empty my mind and refill it with something new."
Thank you Peter, for allowing us to peek into your life and for sharing your extraordinary talent and imagination. I totally agree with you about childhood legends. I would explore orange groves, eucalyptus groves, and river beds, and sit high up in walnut trees amongst flocks of crows. We made up our own fables then.
Oh Peter, you stay well away from those arthropods, you hear?
Readers, be sure to pick up Peter's book at your local, independently owned bookstore.
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