noma bar conveys intensity and intricate story lines with no words and negative space. born+schooled in israel with a move to london after graduation, pictograms are a logical and clever go-to for the non-native speaker in new land. “i’ve always found pictograms to be fascinating – they can tell stories just as well as words, and they can have multiple interpretations. so i began collecting them in their various forms (stickers, etc.), and i learned to develop my own sign language.” – bar (@newyorker.com)
bar began illustrating in a bunker with his family when a radio active symbol looked alarmingly like saddam hussein. this drawing earned him his first commission in london.
but bar is not strictly limited to political topics – his whimsical paperback, guess who: the illustrations of noma bar features icons from all walks. diplomatic characters and artistic influences line each page, including charlie chaplin – who earns cover status, as bar notes “silent comedy was also a great influence on me—telling stories without words.”
i think i’m in love with this guy. this response to What do you have for breakfast? in the wallpaper Q+A sealed the deal:
Cornflakes, coffee and humous. I love humous, I would like to be buried in a large humous jar. me too.
see more powerful works here
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