After graduating from the Tasmanian School of Art in 2002, Sean Edward Whelan left Australia to discover the mysteries of Japan, settling in Joetsu, Niigata where he began working as an English teacher and now works as an illustrator and artist. His lovely pencil drawings depicting a rich texture of traditional Japanese buildings, bridges and lanterns, create singular super structures in the shape of people. I can’t tell you how much I love these. Whelan had his first solo show earlier this year at No Vacancy Gallery in Melbourne, and you can see much more of his work here and here.
If you like these illustrations, you might also like the works of Vasco Mourao and Sagaki Keita. All images courtesy the artist.
Update: There’s now a nice interview with Whelan over on Charles and Ford.