Before I start to show you this project I just want to mention
that I worked on this spread at the beginning of June. A time when in Scotland
the lockdown was still almost completely intact. We were to stay at home, not
go further than approx. 5 miles from home when exercising, not make unnecessary
journeys and not visit other households indoors and stay 2 meters away from
everyone not in our own household at all times. It was a bleak time already but
became even darker with the tragic death and the resulting events surrounding
George Floyds’ death.
At first I wanted
to abandon the spread which was made to illustrate the next lines in Ben Okri’s poem that
read: “We can join that growing fight to
stop our world being plunged into night”. But then I read and re-read them
until I realized that in fact they contained a message of hope, of realizing
that however dark times become there are things we can do in however small a
way to make a difference. So I continued putting all the elements that were
already made by this time, together.
In the booklet I put words that give hope
to me personally and I hope also to other people.
It is also important that I
mention here that Ben Okri himself is a
Nigerian poet and novelist who is considered to be one of the foremost African
authors. He has written both
poetry and fiction and his work has received many rewards. I personally love
his The Magic of the Lamp short story book, with beautifully written, thought
provoking text and also stunning illustrations by Rosemary Clunie.
No comments:
Post a Comment