Anyone Can Do Anything / Madalena Matoso

This book came about through a competition organised by the City of Geneva that challenged authors to create a book addressing the subject of gender equality.

The SwisspublisherNotari proposed using a “meli–melo” format(books in which the pages are divided into two or three parts, allowing almost infinite combinations) and I started creating the images.

It made sense to me to create a book without text, so that the meaning of the images would never be closed or fixed. Each person, with their unique experiences and sensibilities, could read in those images everyday, unusual, or unexpected situations, situations that they had been in, people who seemed familiar, etc.

I keep seeing published images that perpetuate certain gender roles and stereotypes (perhaps they were unconsciously created, but even that tells us something). The father who drives, the mother who washes the dishes, the grandmother who cooks, the grandfather who reads the newspaper. I am aware of how images mark us and it has been important for me in my work as an illustrator to create open images, which can be different things, which are not telling us what is right and wrong but which raise different questions and which also represent uncommon or atypical situations. It also seems to me that we can, in the images we create, reflect on different subjects even when those subjects are not the central focus of the book.The representation of diversity, without fixing the relationship between a particular type of person and a given task, helps to prevent stereotypes from crystallizing and contributes to building a world in which everyone fits. Each of us is a unique combination — a mosaic — of different piecesand a varied representation ends up being closer to reality than a representation in which only two types of peopleexist, each in their own box, doing their own thing.

As well as having men and women (or people of undefined genders) doing different things, I also looked to include a range of ages, ethnicities, and styles. I like that there isn’t a finger pointing and saying “this is the message of this book, this is how you should do it” because I really like that everyone fits in this book; saying nothing, the book becomes broader. Being a “meli-melo” also makes it an easyandplayfulgame. Simple at first sight, but which can become complex depending on the readings that are made.

The situations represented (essentially defined by the bottom half of the page) might be everyday situations, professional situations, leisure time, etc. But the situation seems to change as it is paired with different top halves. I chose to draw a scenario on each page even if this resulted in some strange situations (like trees appearing inside a house). As I was creating the images, and combining them with one another, the compositions ended up being a surprise even for me, and I thought that this change in perception of the situation was also, in itself, food for thought.I like to think of images as starting points.

About the author:

Madalena Matoso is an illustrator. She was born in Lisbon, in 1974, graduated in Communication Design at the University of Lisbon’s Faculty of Fine Arts and later specialized in graphic design at the University of Barcelona.

In 1999, Madalena founded Planeta Tangerina together with three friends. Planeta Tangerina started out as a content, illustration, and graphic design studio, and later in 2004 debuted as a publisher. From the beginning, their books have always wanted to explore new territories, question and challenge readers, and be free.

Madalena has illustrated several books, such as When I was Born, With Time, Clap Book, Little Andersen’s Dictionary, Where Do We Go When We Disappear? and Inside – A Guide to Exploring The Brain.