For It’s Nice That, Olivia Hingley profiled 19 years old Brazilian illustrator Kanioko (he/she/they) and their quirky Simpsons-influenced art.
Including a lot of landscapes, fruit and plants in their work, Kanioko also takes inspiration from their surroundings and by extension Brazilian culture and Brazilian designers. Their vibrant palette and simple lines are also representative of the “happiness and playfulness” present in their day-to-day basis. But their abstract forms and cartoony characters come from a much more personal place, reflecting their personality and background as a queer LGBTQIA+ and Latin American. “I believe what motivates me the most to use these elements is to think of my work in a conceptual way as a subterfuge of the harsh contemporary reality that surrounds us,” Kanioko says. “I like these surreal and funny elements because they reveal a part of me that I usually hide from the world, a quirkiness and a more relaxed, queer side of my essence.”