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“I know why the caged bird sings”
-Maya Angelou
Malika Favre is a French illustrator and graphic designer whose work has adorned the covers of The New Yorker, Vogue, and other prestigious publications. Today, she is one of the most sought-after graphic artists and illustrators. Recently, Malika has turned heads with her striking cover illustration for Arab News. Her work was chosen to commemorate the day women were granted the right to drive in Saudi Arabia. Women’s rights and freedom is also a topic of interest Malika strongly feels about.
Similarly, Malika saw an opportunity to celebrate women through her collaboration with Motiva. Motiva is a new concept of visual art that fuses together inspiring quotes with striking imagery produced by artists to create ‘philosophical art’.
Her art piece called ‘L’envol’ features a single visual metaphor that is accompanied by a series of her favorite quotes by remarkable women such as Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, etc. This Motiva also deeply resonates with her as it touches on women’s rights and empowerment. Malika has explicitly been a champion of women for years through her stimulating and unique artwork.
Malika’s work is significantly based on important and necessary conversations around women’s issues. She has been increasingly involved with women’s issues over the last few years. Malika describes her work as an extension of her bold femininity and a strong sense of womanhood. Subsequently, she seeks to educate the common public and empower and support other women through her powerful and edgy artwork.
One of Malika’s special works is ‘Operating Theatre’ for The New Yorker’s ‘Health, Medicine & the Body’ issue last year. It represented women surgeons in the medical field. And shed light on the gender inequity and bias prevalent in the medical area of specialization. Undoubtedly, her work speaks for women worldwide while also empowering them. In the design world, Malika has been attributed as the ‘rebellious princess’ of graphic editorials.
Most of Malika’s art is also deep-rooted in her values of freedom and integrity. Her mother was a painter and a great source of inspiration to her and her artistic self. She recalls being taught at home that the real wealth was freedom. Freedom to do as you please, travel, change your life, city and above all to choose a profession that you love.
Much of her personal development as an artist was contributed by Airside, a London-based design studio. She worked as a graphic designer and illustrator and was given a lot of freedom and support. Malika dotes on freedom in her creative process and thrives best when given artistic freedom.
The L’envol Motiva created by Malika Favre is centered around the theme of women empowerment and freedom which is the single driving force in Malika’s life. The term ‘L’envol’ translates to ‘take off’ or ‘fly away’ which implies freedom and liberation.
An original illustration was created by Malika exclusively for Motiva. The visual metaphor represents a woman associated with a bird taking flight. This minimal yet powerful illustration is complemented by a careful selection of her favorite quotes from remarkable women such as Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, Calamity Jane, and a few others.
The larger message conveyed through L’envol is that of women’s liberation and greater personal freedom for women. She believes that a woman should be what she wants to be and personally feels responsible for advocating women’s issues through the opportunities she gets.
She has moved away from branding/advertising and closer to editorial pieces for magazines and collaborations. She believes that she finds more creative freedom with such projects. One of her future career goals includes focusing on personal projects and collaborations that echo her own voice as an artist and align with her creative freedom.
Malika Favre’s collaboration with Motiva has given her yet another opportunity to voice her social concerns through a new medium of expression which combines artwork and inspiring quotes through an original design concept. Malika’s artistic brilliance and bold conceptualization align with Motiva’s vision of creating thoughtful discussions through art and compelling quotes.