Charlotte Winkler’s Risograph Comics Explore Care, Connection, and Belonging

Illustrator and author Charlotte Winkler bridges critical theory and visual storytelling in her latest book 'Like a Mad Gardener,' published by Colorama. The artist book collects essays and comics on gardening’s politics, covering land, borders, power, care, and belonging. Winkler’s Risograph-printed pages feature characters like cosy caterpillars, spiky palm trees, and fence-guarding angels, rendered in soft smudges and spiky lines. Her work also includes the pocket-sized publication 'Tenderness I found in a bag,' a 'lovergirl collection' of miniature zines, bumper stickers, and postcards exploring love and longing. Winkler cites writers Siri Hustvedt, Ursula K Le Guin, and Donna Jeanne Haraway as recent inspirations. She reclaims writing as a tool that is both analytical and playful. The artist uses pastels, crayons, acrylic, and pencils on linen and paper. Her work sits between painting, drawing, writing, and comic making.