Excuse Me, Do You Know Where I Belong?
Editorial, Illustration, 2022
Project Overview
In “Excuse me, Do You Know Where I Belong?”, I share my journey of self-discovery while living in Japan, the UK, and briefly visiting my home country, Brazil.
This project is about the questions I’ve had about who I am, tied to where I come from and how I look. I tell my story honestly, showing the awkward moments I’ve faced because of my physical look. But it’s not just about me. The narrative serves a broader purpose – a call to action against Asian and Latino fetishism and racism, even when they’re not obvious.
My goal is to educate and make people understand that even small comments about how someone looks can really affect their life and how they feel about themselves.
Project Process
As mentioned earlier, the narrative within this project unveils personal moments from my life. As a result, I initially opted for a concertina book format, which provides an intimate connection between the reader and the story. With each unfolding, the reader uncovers a collection of moments I’ve encountered. In my illustrations, I strive to infuse a touch of humour, almost akin to satire, to captivate my audience. I’ve applied the same approach to this series of illustrations.
Regarding the colour palette, I aimed for simplicity while maintaining a vibrant quality. This allowed me to experiment with contrasts, and what better combination than pink and blue to achieve this effect? Lastly, I realised that a strong background colour can strain people’s eyes, a factor I hadn’t taken
into consideration during the design process; as a result, I developed a second version of the series with more precise digital illustrations, and consequently with a less human touch. But I was very much satisfied with both works, and that’s what matters to me: the achievement
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