Most of the time, the place, and the country a person is born in construct their life years ahead before they can even learn how to speak or walk. But what would happen if you got raised by people with several cultural backgrounds, yet you end up connecting to none of them? Do they adapt to the culture they are born into or enhance parts of the one they were introduced to from their parents? Like the plot of my book, you will go on a journey to discover the answer.
While growing up, I was often told I looked and act as a foreigner in my own country. So, for a big period of my life I felt as such. Therefore, as every other twenty-something I decided to deal with this sense of dread. That is where my graduation project ‘The Soul Bearer’ comes into play. ‘The Soul Bearer’ concentrates on the Bulgarian and Slavic folklore and it is a personal way overcoming the feeling of cultural isolation from your country and how having Slovakian and Jewish heritage made me doubt my roots.
The medium I have decided to work with for this project is digital, using Adobe Photoshop 2019. I wanted to keep my colour pallet limited, so the viewer would be able to dictate their own interpretation of colour selection. Incorporating red among blacks and whites in the illustrations is providing some sort of light guidance throughout the book. Overall, the illustrations focus on the subject or the character, rather than the environment around, so it is important to understand the symbolism and the cultural significance in each of them.
This project provides personal research of culture I was born into but did not connect with up until recently.