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Hi. For no reason I will now begin a thread about some of my editorial illustrations for @recordnepal +
Trump story by @bbhrikuti. I was so much into vaporwave and glitch at the time. https://www.recordnepal.com/wire/hate-and-fear-become-more-overt-for-nepalis-in-trumps-america/
For the editorial https://www.recordnepal.com/category-explainers/how-the-left-alliance-won/. I still like this piece a lot. Supposed union of two "lefts". Two right arms. Two different things combining or the one thing repeating?
While making this I was thinking about how I hadn't really seen any non-caricature drawn representations of Madhesi politicians. https://www.recordnepal.com/wire/features/can-upendra-yadav-fill-the-leadership-void-in-nepals-identity-movement/
For my own story on sexual violence statistics. https://www.recordnepal.com/wire/half-a-million-women-in-nepal-have-experienced-sexual-violence/ I really really REALLY wanted to break away from those generic illustrations showing pitiful women in tattered clothes.
Another example of me being oversmart and writing AND illustrating my own work. https://www.recordnepal.com/wire/communist-government-moves-to-curtail-civil-liberties/ I spent far too much time on this illustration. I don't know why. I just got too worked up.
Gig economy story by Saurabh Shah https://www.recordnepal.com/category-explainers/nepali-reality-in-the-gig-economy/ I really like this one too. I thought really hard about interesting ways to represent a gig worker in the context of Nepal and came up with this juxtaposition.
I went with a photomontage style for @MetroNir's translation of Uttam Kunwar's article on Bhupi Sherchan https://www.recordnepal.com/art-letter/ive-been-writing-a-memoir-bhupi-sherchan/ Enjoyed this process a lot. Thinking about all the visual metaphors and interpretations.
For @NabinBibhas's piece on Badal and Biplab. https://www.recordnepal.com/wire/comrades-at-war/
@saatdobato: "What are all these black lines supposed to be?"
Me: "Um...... their ...emotions...?"
@saatdobato: "What are all these black lines supposed to be?"
Me: "Um...... their ...emotions...?"
More photomontage. For a story on corruption in the army. I feel like I should develop this cash camo idea further. Hiding in cash. Camouflaged, yet in plain sight. Something like that. https://www.recordnepal.com/category-explainers/why-is-the-nepal-army-above-corruption-law/
Another army story. https://www.recordnepal.com/wire/pampering-the-army/ Photomontage again.
Hello chromatic aberration, my dear friend.
Hello chromatic aberration, my dear friend.
@adiadhikari's review of Stiller's book https://www.recordnepal.com/wire/the-silences-of-history/ Image feels unfinished, but I liked the juxtaposition. Had to pore through many archives to find a combo. The pen was meant to be weaving in and out around their feet. Who does history oblige? That sort of thing.
@SaritaPariyar's now oft-cited piece https://www.recordnepal.com/wire/untouchable-stories-of-touchable-vaginas/ I had to think a lot about how to depict this dark and distressing topic. I kept thinking about medical illustrations, about dehumanization, and maps. Blood and veins.
Sudden change of style for Nirmal Acharya's story on online sexual violence. https://www.recordnepal.com/wire/features/nepals-rape-culture-has-gone-online-and-our-laws-are-dismal/ I needed a break from the busy layered styles, went with something clean. From the get go I knew I wanted it all to revolve around blue in some way, Facebook and Twitter's colors.
For a piece on Dalit deaths by @rdewan and myself https://www.recordnepal.com/category-explainers/dalit-deaths-and-the-longevity-of-caste/. Kept thinking about triangles. Galtung's conception of three forms of violence. The caste pyramid. Trinities, holy/unholy. Image started out with much lighter tones but I kept making it darker and darker.
For a story on acid attacks https://www.recordnepal.com/category-explainers/how-acid-attacks-are-fueled-by-a-corrosive-culture-of-male-entitlement/ Again, I was confronted with the question: "How do you avoid making a cliche illustration for this topic?"
The acid is poured onto a mirror, a self image, but also "into" the man in the background; toxicity filling the mind.
The acid is poured onto a mirror, a self image, but also "into" the man in the background; toxicity filling the mind.
@sedhairoshan's piece on hospitals' treatment of patients https://www.recordnepal.com/wire/features/hospitals-complicit-in-the-deaths-of-at-least-a-dozen-patients-over-covid-fears/ Photographed my own hands for reference and made a 3D render for the hospital beds. The composition is kind of unbalanced, but hey I guess it plays into the meaning.
I really appreciated the fact that I had the creative freedom to do this at @recordnepal, try all these visual styles. It was fun making these.
That's about it for now. Thanks for passing by.
That's about it for now. Thanks for passing by.
