Hanna's Wedding

My very good friend Hanna is getting married! We used to be neighbours in the student accommodation when I was still at college. Hanna was training to become a nurse when I first met her. She is the kindest, most helpful and selflessly person I have ever met. Often she would visit her patients in her free time, if she felt someone needed more attention. She was the one who helped me overcome my fear of needles and become a regular blood donor.

She always loved dressmaking, quite regular she would come over to my flat with her old sewing machine and a bottle of Campari, and we would create new skirts & dresses out of random material we found and chat through the night… she now made her passion her profession and works as a dressmaker at a national theatre in Germany.

So I was asked to design her wedding invitation. We decided for a classic silhouette. The original has the size of a long postcard, 210mm x 100mm, black ink and grey gouache. I found it very difficult to apply the paint evenly.

The magpie stealing the ring á la Rackham is a cheeky allusion showing the trouble they face, as they are of different nationalities. It’s not that their families would not approve, but the bureaucracy they have to go through is simply ridiculous.