Diptych Photoshop Collage
Bizenghast vs Rackham Illustrations
These two mashup posters that form a diptych focus on the concepts of life and death, and what may come afterwards; an idea that is covered in all forms of storytelling and folk lore for many years back. These posters focus on dualities: life versus death, light versus dark, comforting and familiar versus spooky and strange. Though it is a natural and consistent part of our lives, our western culture often struggles with portrayal of death and the afterlife and often the symbols for it are grim and macabre.
In the Bizenghast manga series by M. Alice LeGrow, the protagonist is contracted to a mausoleum to help ease the passage of troubled souls ‘into the beyond’. Though terrified at first, and eager to find a way out of the contract, the main character comes to realize the deeper importance and empathizes with the trapped and twisted spirits. The series speaks of issues of mental health, relationships, and family. Much like the Brothers Grimm folktales, these stories are intended to bolster and teach the reader core concepts that will ease in the journey of life.
Illustrations still play an important role in accompanying stories and are used to impart the knowledge within them, especially upon young minds who are still learning to read. Much like how the core concepts are passed down, there is continued use of the art style of traditional inked lines, bringing us back to the origins of printed media and the illustrations that add so much more interest to the stories being told. Tales and illustrations of the absurd and fantastical captivates audiences, while the underlying messages remain the same.
Keeping with the classic black ink outlined illustrations and adding smooth digital painting to mimic watercolours, I have created these posters in limited and faded colour palettes to imitate the traditional mediums and the restraints of early publishing technology in the beginning of coloured book illustrations. The source images come from Arthur Rackham’s illustrations from the early 1900’s and content form M. Alice LeGrow’s Bizenghast series that was published in the early 2000’s. The images are made to create intrigue and to make the casual observer curious enough to purchase and read the folklore they are attached to. Are they guardians or monsters?
