For Ruben Cornelissen, graduating from the Bachelor of Illustration Design at ArtEZ Academy of Art & Design Zwolle, his graduation project begins with someone who has inspired him throughout his life: his older brother, who is eight years his senior. He encouraged Ruben to keep pursuing his creativity and gave him the confidence to tell stories from his own perspective.
'My brother means the world to me,' Ruben says. 'Because of our age difference, he sometimes took on a fatherly role as well. He always encouraged me to explore my creativity.'
In his finals work, Ruben puts his brother centre stage. Through a series of illustrations, he shows how his brother shapes his life, what brings him joy, and the resilience that shines through in everyday moments. Ruben's brother lives with a mobility impairment and experiences mental health challenges, but that is far from the whole story. It is the ordinary moments that reveal who he truly is.
Rather than focusing only on life's difficulties, Ruben highlights the small things that make his brother happy. In doing so, he reveals a quiet strength. To Ruben, this resilience is something everyone carries within them. By telling his brother's story, he invites visitors to recognise that universal strength in themselves and others.
'I don't just want to show the difficult parts of life, but especially the small things that make my brother happy.'
For Ruben, illustration is a way of organising thoughts and emotions. At the same time, he uses his work to give space to stories that often go unnoticed.
'I don't necessarily make work about major social issues,' he explains. 'I like giving a place to things that are usually forgotten.'
His graduation project is both a personal tribute and an invitation to look at people and their stories from a different perspective.