'Wij Twee, Samen'.
Eva Cardon, who uses the pseudonym Ephameron, is a Belgian comic artist and illustrator. Her autobiographical work is inspired by everyday events and contemplates the transience of life. According to her website, Ephameron "explores a sensitive side of the world, where small and intimate dramas of life are documented." The artist uses sober, atmospheric colors, collage techniques and simple materials like pens and typ-ex. Her most celebrated graphic novel is 'Wij Twee, Samen' (2015), a powerful and moving work about her late father's struggle with dementia. In 2019, this book was translated into English as 'Us Two, Together'. Her 2021 book 'Nooit Meer Alleen' visualised experiences of early motherhood.
Early life
Eva Cardon was born in 1979 in Leuven. Her father Bert Cardon (1946-2015) was an art history professor at the local university. Growing up in a cultivated environment, she was introduced to many artists from a young age. Among her graphic influences are André Franquin and Jacques Tardi, and she also enjoys short stories by authors like Lydia Davis, Raymond Carver and Dorothy Parker. Cardon studied audiovisual and graphic arts at the Karel de Grote University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Antwerp. She later got her Master's degree in Fine Arts and Illustrative Design from the Sint Lucas School of Arts in the same city. Cardon has published most of her art under the pseudonym Ephameron, derived from the Dutch archaic word "efemeer" for "short-lived". It reminds her that life unavoidably passes by, so she tries to use her time efficiently and capture the moments that matter to her. To stress her philosophy even further, she uses paper and adhesive tape for her art, both materials with limited durability. Cardon's illustrations have appeared in newspapers and magazines like De Standaard, De Morgen, De Tijd and Weekend Knack, as well as in international titles like Modart magazine, L'Echo and The New York Times. On 15 March 2001, her personal website received the prize for "Best Cultural Website" from the Brussels' Foundation for Art Promotion.
'Found + Lost' and 'Love/Pain'.
Illustration work
Starting in the early 2000s, Cardon contributed to anthology publications by the Antwerp comic store Mekanik, such as 'Love Stories' (2001), 'I Had a Dream' (2003) and 'Bruggen Bouwen' (2004). Together with Serge Baeken, she illustrated a promotional comic strip for Traject 2 (2004), a voluntary intensive guidance counselling program for youngsters. She worked with Baeken again as one of the colorists of his graphic novel 'De Maagd van Antwerpen: 200 Jaar Koninklijk Atheneum Antwerpen' (2007). The book portrayed two centuries' worth of history, all revolving around the Royal Athenaeum of Antwerp.
In May 2006, the publishing house Bries released Cardon's first book: 'Love/Pain', a collection of illustrations, designs, photographs and sketches she made during a period of six years. A follow-up appeared in February 2009: 'Found+Lost'. Supported by the Flemish Literary Fund, Cardon worked with writer Pieter van Oudheusden on the graphic novel 'Weg' (Bries, 2010). The work consists of a series of short stories about a bear and little fox, interconnected by a subplot about a young writer struggling with writer's block. To find inspiration, the novelist takes a walk outside, which gave Cardon the chance to depict the city in all its urban splendor.
Wij Twee, Samen
In the early 2010s, Cardon's father was diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia, a form of dementia. Together with her two sisters, she helped their mother take care of him. During these emotionally heavy years, Cardon wanted to devote a graphic novel to her father and his illness. She started working on it while he was still alive, determined to finish it before his death. Two months before he passed away the book was ready. The work appeared in print after her father's funeral and Cardon stated she never reread it since, because it was too uncomfortable and distressing to her.
The title of 'Wij Twee, Samen' (Oogachtend, 2015) translates as "we two, together", which were her father's final words. The book is divided in two parts. The first half reflects Cardon's own feelings and experiences. The second half is told from her father's viewpoint. A voiceover, quoting from his diary entries, appears throughout the novel. At first the images and sentences have a clear meaning, but as his mental decline continues, Cardon's father gazes at empty corners and arm chairs, which gradually devolve into blurs and fuzz. His sentences transform into mere words and eventually nonsensical sounds. 'Wij Twee Samen' won Cardon tremendous critical acclaim, including the Cutting Edge Award for best comic in 2016. Readers and critics were moved by her personal story and psychologists have used it to help patients. The graphic novel was also adapted into a song for baritone and piano by composer Peter Spaepen. In 2019, 'Wij Twee, Samen' was published in English as 'Us Two, Together' by The Pennsylvania University Press in its 'Graphic Medicine' series.
'Ward Krant', 2012.
Collaboration with Arnon Grunberg
Shortly after the release of her graphic novel, the book '(On)voltooid Verleden Tijd' (2016) appeared, a compilation of a series of columns by Cardon with Dutch columnist/novelist Arnon Grunberg. During the summer of 2015, the duo had serialezed the work in the newspaper De Standaard. It followed a loose narrative about a man with memory problems and how his silent wife witnesses his decline. Grunberg wrote the text, while Cardon made the illustrations. Each worked alone and shared their ideas and contributions through WhatsApp. That way they could inspire each other and send the improvised story into different directions.
Travel sketches
In 2017, Cardon published 'Re/Collection' (Oogachtend, 2017), a collection of sketches she made during her many travels across the world. Rather than just take photographs, she went for the old school approach of sketching and painting them at the locations themselves. In her opinion, these drawings became far more intense and personal than a snap shot anyone can take. In the same vein was the book 'Better Days' (self-published through Ephactory, 2018), a series of sketches she made while she stayed in Bangkok.
Nooit Meer Alleen
Eva Cardon's experiences as a young mother inspired her next graphic novel project 'Nooit Meer Alleen' ("Never Alone Again", Oogachtend, 2021). In seven chapters, Ephameron wove together the experiences of young parents into a sensitive and atmospheric visual story, which explores a shared experience of a life-changing event: the birth of a first child.
'Nest' (March 2018).
Other activities
In the spring of 2016, Eva Cardon made a mural for the Sint-Martinus School in Zomergem. The request came from a pupil, Stan, whose 12-year old cousin Lotte had died from leukemia the year before. In memory to her he wanted Cardon to draw her image on one of the school's walls. The ceremony was broadcast during an episode of the wish fulfillment TV show 'De Wensboom' on the commercial network VTM, hosted by Niels Destadsbader.
Eva Cardon teaches graphic storytelling at the LUCA School of Arts (Sint-Lukas) in Brussels. She is also one of the driving forces behind the Grafixx festival in Antwerp. Since 2022, she has hosted the radio show 'Grafixx House Call', in which she travels the world to visit some of her favorite creatives at their studio. Each episode features an interview and tracks selected by the guest.
In addition to her graphic novels, Ephameron has released silkscreen prints and risographs in limited print runs. Her 2024 risograph book 'Curtain Call' was made during an artist residency in Bangkok, and dealt with grief. In November 2024, she also released 'Holding It All In Place', a collection of 80 photographs made with a broken camera, which the reader has to hold together. Her work has also been featured in several exhibitions, notably 'Stad In Oorlog' (2023- ) at the MAS in Antwerp, an in-depth exhibition on life and death in Antwerp during World War II.
In 2007, Eva Cardon's work was presented in Gallery Lambiek in the exposition 'Ephameron - The Diaries'. It was the first exhibition organized by Boris Kousemaker, after taking over the store from his father.