The Illustrators: Oliver Jeffers

An overview of the life and work of the Northern Irish illustrator, bookmaker, painter, designer, activist, and global superstar in the world of visual communication.

A phenomenon of twenty-first-century bookmaking, Oliver Jeffers's energy and curiosity has driven an extraordinary career that shows no sign of slowing. Only in his forties, he has published an array of hugely popular books, both as illustrator and author-illustrator, including How to Catch a Star and Begin Again. This overview of his life and work so far will chart his passion for the environment and his quest to understand humanity's major challenges, and the impact this has had on his creative and intellectual output.

The list of Jeffers's accomplishments is long and glittering: he has been granted numerous one-man shows both in the United Kingdom and the United States and was appointed an MBE in 2022 for services to the arts. Most importantly, however, he has tirelessly pushed the boundaries of what a picturebook can be, both in terms of structure and content. His regular exploration of existential issues, both through illustration and other media, such as site-specific installation, has exerted a major influence on the practice of authorial picturebook-making. His works have been translated into multiple languages and into other media, including full-length animated films, such as Lost and Found.