For the hand-painted cover, Murugiah recreated his digital mock up drawings onto heavy stock watercolour paper with red ink. After the ink drawings were done, they were then taped to the drawing board where Murugiah dripped paint and moved the paper around, applying randomised brush strokes onto the paper. The result is a richly textured background wash, made in reaction to the natural dripping of the paint. “Working in this intuitive way is an incredibly rewarding process that only a human being working by hand can do,” says Murugiah. The cover was then finished off with black line work and paint. He scanned the painting, and applied it digitally to a template Faber provided, a proccess then repeated with the endpapers.
Faber asked for the illustrations within the book’s pages to be in black-and-white, in continuation with other books within the series, which include re-imaginings of The Bell Jar and The Great Gatsby. Working without colour gave Murugiah a chance to work outside of his comfort zone, leaving his typically brightly coloured style behind. Picking choice moments from the novel and translating them visually, Murugiah considered the illustrations cohesion with the endpapers using textures and mark-making to tie them together.
Following the reader’s natural journey – exploring the front and back of the book – Murugiah’s illustrations serve as a visual guide into the book’s core themes. The back cover sees protagonist Winston running in terror under the watchful eye of Big Brother, and this last internal illustration was important to Murugiah to get right. “It’s haunting and fucked up!” he says. 1984 is a special book for the artist, and his participation in this illustrated series for Faber that re-introduces ir to new audiences is one he’s proud of. Now, there’s more to come in the literary space for Murugiah; his first solo show is taking place at the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration in May 2026.
Nineteen Eighty-Four: The Illustrated Edition, illustrated by Murugiah, is available for purchase at Faber’s online shop.