Moonland

Keywords: Illustration, Community, Worldbuilding, Storytelling, Mental Health

My project explores ideas of place and narrative through its imagined landscapes and characters. Inspired by Biblical stories of wandering and miracle, I take further inspiration from Southern Gothic by playing on the similarities between lunar and desert landscapes in their isolating yet cosmic qualities, as well as from the eschatological realms of Dante’s Inferno and Milton’s Paradise Lost. Interpreting these influences through the contemporary lens of video game-style storytelling, the project challenges a linear journey towards belonging or salvation, instead navigating abstract landscapes which visualize experiences of anxiety and disassociation. Ultimately, I aim to contrast these darker mental health themes with surreal moments of miracle and escape, drawing the viewer into each monochromatic illustration through the central ‘pilgrim’ character. The project is also a response to the increasingly algorithm-driven nature of our online spaces; I experiment with visual noise to both build and disrupt my imagined world.

Alighieri, D. (1321) Dante’s Inferno 

Haraway, D. (1985) ‘A Cyborg Manifesto’.  

de Saint-Exupéry, Antoine. (1943) The Little Prince 

Pilgrim, Digitally edited pen drawing 

The Promised Land, Digitally edited pen drawing 

Help! My heart is on fire, Digitally edited pen drawing