Top 10 Ioana Trușcă: architecture & illustrations get well together 

Give me some cartoons series and I will happy. Give me an app to see the cartoons going live and I will be amazed. That’s the simple story behind my curiosity to meet Ioana Trușcă, one of these six artist that created limited editions for Molecule-F of augmented T-shirts, in a special project with George (the first intelligent banking). That and the fact I can’t resist to a cute (yet mad) rabbit. 

Ioana Trușcă works – on @itrsc – Instagram and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ioana.trsc).
T-shirts George X Ioana Trușcă are available exclusively on www.molecule-f.com. Find the app IVIVE to see the augmented T-shirts going live.
Info about One Night Gallery – https://www.facebook.com/onenightgallery/ 

1. Why so many rabbits in your latest projects (the exhibition One Night Gallery, your book, Turb@, T-shirts)?

I didn’t expect that, but The Mad Rabbit (Turb@) evolved from an initial joke to a book character, than he multiplied and became more serious with every appearance in the real world. For a long time I didn’t think that the rabbit will go beyond of my notebook pages but… here we are! I think he’s funny because of the contrast between who he is and what he does. Who saw super strong rabbits, telepaths, “getting high” on coal? Now, the rabbit is on illustrations, animations, decorative objects and sitting poufs. We’ll see what is going to happen from now on.  

2. Why architectural stories in cartoons (the project for Timisoara Biennal BETA)?

The BETA project was just a part from a more complex exhibition, “About House Living”, imagined, curated and put into practice by Ideilagram; the idea was given, I imagined things around it. That was the moment when I have discovered that I like being in the middle of architecture – my background – and cartoons. From that moment, I never stop working on this mood, and I try to make my project involve both of my sides & skills. 

3. What kind of city would be Bucharest in a cartoon series? And who would you be – the hero, the villain? 

Bucharest is a patchwork, full of improvised things, a city of contrasts – in reality and in any story I would draw about this city. Anyone who survives is a hero. I am working on a series of stories on this idea and I find my inspiration anywhere – from any intersection to every bus or tram and in every flat building. 

4. Your Instagram profile says 1/2 architect, 1/2 illustrator. Which half wins, usually? And why? 

For the last year, the illustrator leaded, but I have to say that the architect part is approaching fast. I’ve realised that these two parts can go well together. I am almost at the point of getting the perfect balance, but because I don’t want to be easy on me, I try to add, lately, the animation part on the skills’ list. 

5. Why are you in the George project? What is the best thing you like about it? 

We met through One Night Gallery, “Ioana Trușcă” edition (https://www.facebook.com/onenightgallery/). George and the rabbits liked each other from the first moment, and I am happy that I understood what’s going on with sketches and animations and so on… 

6. What your fictional characters from illustrations and people from Alain de Botton books have in common? (Beside your drawings?)

For Alain de Botton series at Vellant, I wanted to imagine a bunch of characters and their common feature to be the introspection. I think that every project should have characters made to measure, but I guess that the illustrator personality is still out there, somehow. It is a piece of me in mad rabbits, in Sofica, in Alain de Botton characters – sometimes more, sometimes barely visible. 

7. You have infinite powers and resources. Your next project will include…  

Infinite stories, cu infinite characters, all of them serious, but at the same time including a big dose of amusement. I would experiment several soundtracks, I would mix different skills and I would learn as much as I could. I am doing this now, as well, with limited powers and resources; and I think it’s pretty good.  

8. Your favourite projects are…

On books… “Animalul povestitor”, at Vellant publishing house, coming soon.
On architecture… Rezidența Scena9, for White Night of Galleries, with Justin Baroncea, in 2016.
A space… the mural with MATKA, last summer, in the project Creative Spaces foe Education.
On fashion… I had a series of ceramic brooches – rabbits – together with Roxana from Studio Mud. That counts?
On cartoons… the episode with old people – detectives, at Timisoara <3. 

9. About Ioana Trușcă you should know… 

She is from Tg Jiu and she likes drawing with coal (hahaha).
She is in a continuous (and slow) learning process. 

10. Ioana Trușcă works are ….on @itrsc – Instagram and Facebook –https://www.facebook.com/ioana.trsc. Also, the T-shirts George X Ioana Trușcă are available on www.molecule-f.com.

Photograhpy: www.dreamingof.net – at MODUL Cărturești (Strada Academiei 20, București)

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