above: private collection 14" x 17", ink on Bristol board, 2005 I did these ink paintings of the Moai on Easter Island, AKA Rapa Nui, a couple of years before I had the idea to make a graphic novel about their creation, the myths surrounding them, and the overall history of the island. I never did make that graphic novel, but I did a hell of a lot of research for it and I did plan a bit of it in a couple of sketchbooks. How did this come about? While doing research for my comic book, Weak Species , which dealt with all the nasty things we, as humans, do (to each other, other animals, our environment, etc.) I learned about the history of Rapa Nui and felt strongly about retelling their story in graphic novel form as a cautionary tale. The following excerpt from Easter Island, Earth Island by Paul Bahn and John Flenley explains my main motivation: The islanders of Rapa Nui "...carried out for us the experiment of permitting unrestricted population growth, pro...
Milê Murtanovski's artwork...mostly paintings...and the occasional scale model.