Helena Klakočar (born 1958) is a Croatian artist alternative cartoonist known for her autobiographical, social, and political observations.

Life and work

Helena Klakočar was born in

Tuzla Tuzla (, , ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inha ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, into an ethnic

Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

family. When she was seven years old her family moved to

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

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, where she attended primary and grammar school. She studied graphic art at the Art Academy in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, Croatia and became successful as a comics author, designer of posters and animation films. In summer 1991 she went on a sailing holiday with her husband and two-year-old daughter. Their return from

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

was prolonged because of the outburst of the war in Former Yugoslavia. On a small catamaran during the winter she was capturing daily life and memories of her homeland in drawings and text, depicted in her award-winning graphic novel "Restless Sea 1" (in French "Passage en douce") which is translated into several languages. She received a grant by Fonds BKVB,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, and later from Centre de la livre,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, to continue with this story.

Bibliography

Comics

* 2020 book ''REVOLT'' published by Vedis, Zagreb * 2019 ;Publishing house VEDIS from Zagreb published her book ''WALL MEDITERRANEAN'', graphic reportage based on the interviews with the crew of the Croatian search and rescuing boat BŠ-72 Andrija Mohorovičić who was involved in the operation Triton (Frontex) * graphic novel "Friesland (Restless Sea 2), 2009, Fabrika knjiga, Belgrade, Serbia, * "Groote Reis", 2003, Aristej, Maribor, Slovenia * graphic novel "Passage en Douce (Restless Sea 1)", 1999, Freon, Bruxelles, Belgium (2000 - Prix Alph-Art du Meilleur Album Étranger for graphic novel ''Passage en douce'',

Festival d'Angoulême A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival constitutes ...

, France)

Films

* "Dance, Monster, on my gentle melody” with group Zzot, Zagreb, 1985 (awarded in Belgrade, 1986) * "Tai Chi" (with M. Manojlovic), Zagreb film studio, Zagreb, 1989 * "What happened with my friends", animation part in the P.de Pierpont film, Bruxelles, Belgium (film received many international awards).

Animated Films

* Propagand film for the Gallery SC, 1990/91, 4x 30 sec * Realization of the ZZOTROPHE machine on the enlarged scale (5x5 m) for exhibition of the art groups in Marseilles, France, 1989.

Awards

* 2019 - project resident at Cite International des arts, Paris * 2016 - project resident at RECOLLETS Paris , City of Paris and Instituit Francais * 2000 - Prix Alph-Art du Meilleur Album Étranger for graphic novel ''Passage en douce'',

, France * 2000 - Prix du Radio Info, for ''Passage en douce'', France * 2000 - "1st award for illustration", Stichting Tussen Hemel en Aarde, Netherland * 2000 - Stipendium Centre de la Livre, Paris, France * 2001 - Work stipendium Fonds voor Kunst en Arhitektur, Amsterdam, Netherland * 2002 - "The picture which was never taken”, Helsinki, Finland, lecture on symposia about graphic novels. * 2003 - Guest artist Academia Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany.

Notes

External links

*
Entry
about Helena Klakocar in Duch Encyclopedia of Comics
Presentation
for "City of Women" Festival

Interviews

Interview
in

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's publication
Interview
in

Dnevnik Dnevnik means "The Daily" or "Daily News" in South Slavic languages. It can also be translated as "Diary". Closely related Slavic variants of the word are Deník (Czech) Dziennik ( Polish) and Дневник (Russian). It may refer to: ;In broad ...

's publication {{DEFAULTSORT:Klakocar, Helena Alternative cartoonists Graphic novelists 1958 births Living people Bosnia and Herzegovina women artists Bosnia and Herzegovina comics artists Bosnia and Herzegovina cartoonists Women cartoonists Female comics artists Female comics writers 20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina artists 21st-century Bosnia and Herzegovina artists