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Cooperative

Artwork by Rob Bidder

  • Comic
Panel 1 of a six-panel comic made with ink, watercolour and colour pencils: A group of blue and green bugs, with various shapes and sizes of body and antennae, some with huge disc-like eyes, others with small dots for eyes, look out of the frame at the viewer. A bubble of text above them reads: “You’ve started an insect workers’ cooperative”
Panel 2 of a six-panel comic made with ink, watercolour and colour pencils: Seven different flowers, each with a different type of flower head fill the frame, some are on stiff, vertical stalks others with stalks bending to the right or left. Text bubbles at the top and bottom of the panel read: “You have close links to the flower cooperative, who helped you get started”
Panel 3 of a six-panel comic made with ink, watercolour and colour pencils: Three differnt species of insect sit on small rocks on the edge of a yellow lawn, having a meeting. Three text bubbles around them read: “You have regular meetings. Conflict and rupture is common. But so is repair and understanding”
Panel 4 of a six-panel comic made with ink, watercolour and colour pencils: Two different types of insect flying through a grey, cloudy sky fill most of the panel, with others infront and behind them. Two text bubbles top and bottom of the panel read: “The friendships and allegiances you made with co-workers was always the best part of any job you’ve had”
Panel 5 of a six-panel comic made with ink, watercolour and colour pencils: In the foreground, a small blue bug with long curly antennae and folded wings trots, eyes down, along the forest floor. Two plump brown mushrooms are behind it, showing the gills in their undersides. A text bubble above the mushrooms reads: “You’re hoping that you can have that without having to answer to a boss”
Panel 6 of a six-panel comic made with ink, watercolour and colour pencils: A yellow crescent moon, with a face in profile, fills the left quarter of the panel. It looks down from the purple night-sky at the little blue bug, who is surrounded by vegetation, and gazing up at the moon. A text bubble in the sky reads: “The moon is your only boss now”
Cooperative. © Rob Bidder for Wellcome Collection.

About the artist

Black and white portrait of Rob Bidder sitting by the sea holding an ice cream cone in one hand and a white mug of tea in the other. He has the hood of his jumper over his head and is wearing a pair of sunglasses.

Rob Bidder

Rob Bidder is an artist, person-centred counsellor and educator based in Glasgow.