'Gerrie at Oprah', from Pindakaas, featuring Oprah Winfrey.
Gerrie Hondius was one of the three Dutch female comic artists who came to public attention in the 1990s with their autobiographical comics, alongside Maaike Hartjes and Barbara Stok. She was born as the youngest of four daughters, in Oost-Souburg, The Netherlands. She studied illustration and graphic techniques at the Willem de Kooning Academy in Rotterdam, and Science of Theatre in Amsterdam. For a while, Hondius worked as a professional singer/performer (she participated in the Groningen Student Cabaret Festival with Kees Torn in 1990), but eventually decided to be a comic artist.
'Ansje Tweedehansje'. Translation: "Sorry, but I think I broke my leg." - "Then you shouldn't be lying here... then you ought to visit a doctor!"
After making comics for the alternative and small press magazines Barwoel, and Levenslessen: Het Stripblad Voor de Mens, she published her first official comic, 'Ansje Tweedehansje', in the feminist glossy Opzij in 1996. In addition to 'Ansje', Hondius created new strips like weekly episodes of 'De Vriendinnen' (in Vriendin) and 'De Man in de Straat' (in NCRV-gids). Hondius has also made weekly illustrations for AD Magazine, and occasionally published comics in underground magazine Zone 5300, Algemeen Dagblad, Esta and nrc.next.
Comic strip by Gerrie Hondius.
In February 2000, Gerrie Hondius was given a grant by the government to work on her own book. In October 2000, this first album, containing autobiographical stories, with the interesting title 'Als Je Je Niks Verbeeldt Dan Ben Je Niks' ('If You Don't Pretend You're Nothing') came out at publisher Nijgh & Van Ditmar, Amsterdam. In this autobiographical work, Hondius writes openly about personal subjects, like her quest for love, the death of her mother, her rape and her interest in spirituality, but also more casual subjects like the online purchase of a second-hand coat or her talks with her depressed rabbit. A second album, 'Pindakaas', was published by Oog & Blik in June 2003. Another volume of collected autobiographical work was 'Ik Ben God', published by Contact in 2009. In that same year, she made the serial 'Nurks Konijn' for De Volkskrant.
'Ansje Tweedehansje'.
Hondius is the driving force behind Teken Mijn Verhaal ("Draw My Story"), a foundation that draws out the (comic) stories created by handicapped children. About 200 Dutch comic artists have drawn for the foundation so far. She is co-founder of the illustrators and comic artists' agency Inklinks with Dithmarine van Rongen and Joost Pollmann in 2006. She made her debut as a novelist in 2010 with her book 'Ik Ontmoette Een Man', and is also active as a sculptor, painter, songwriter, courtroom sketch artist and sand artist.
Design of a couch for Unicef.
'De Vriendinnen'.