oliver jeffers

Oliver Jeffers includes scientific elements into his work in a subtle yet focussed way. Often in the form of equations, aesthetically they may not make any sense to the piece, but sometimes when the title is revealed, somehow, the communication seems clear. It is like Jeffers is holding something back, so when we first look at his work it is purely for it’s aesthetic quality, then we get to comprehend it through further investigation.
This leads me to thinking, do we always need to understand work to appreciate it? Does all work have a message and if so, does it really need to be so clear?
For some illustrations for example comic books, yes, they need to be easily read, but they are often backed up by ongoing narrative. At other times, it is nice to have image for images sake, and more enigmatic meanings are nice, in the way that meaning can be taken from pieces in various form, personal to the audience.

"POPULATION OF THE WORLD AT LAST COUNT"