Lone Child

Corinna Schmelter-Pourian
Lone Child

“An only child is an only child. Only, not lonely, right?”

This question is asked by every only child who sometimes feels a little alone, and finds it unfair that their friends have brothers and sisters while they have only a sausage dog for company. But then sometimes the only child is happy to have mum and dad and the sausage dog to themselves, and to be able to choose their own playmates.

Corinna Schmelter-Pourian’s high-contrast images strikingly underline her debut text about the world of the only child. Clever, funny, and imaginative, it encourages us to reflect on the advantages and disadvantages of being alone, of having siblings, and the difference between big and small.

Corinna Schmelter-Pourian: “The images should be just as evocative as the story itself. I drew them digitally in a reduced colour palette. I used neon colours alongside softer tones, and doodles in coloured pencils next to elements in a watercolour style. My aim was to reflect the inner conflicts within the child’s mind through juxtapositions in the outside world. Patterns and objects recur and become symbolic: stones, apple cores, the crown of decision making.”

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