Skin Deep Sorrows
An Illustrative and Typographic exploration of the intersection of language, sorrow, and tattoo arts.
Skin Deep Sorrows is an illustrative exploration of the connections between language, tattoos, and what I call colloquial sorrow. I define colloquial sorrow as the type of sorrow one feels often, yet transiently and tenuously. These fleeting moments of sorrow permeate our days, often going unnamed as they bring only subtle attention to the nuances of the human experience. Language and the art of tattooing have long been vessels through which we share experiences and identities, often relying on conceptual visual narratives. This body of work finds and works within the convergence of these complex topics.
The primary deliverables for the Skin Deep Sorrows project is a series of screen printed posters. Five of these posters, measuring 18”x24” were created using five or six different screen layers, each one featuring a different colour. When overlayed and printed using semi-opaque mixed inks, new colours emerge beyond the initial few. The process is labour-intensive, with each edition of fifteen to twenty prints taking an average of two days each to complete on top of the drawing time, which averaged 12hrs each. The remaining three posters, measuring 18”x12” were created using two screen layers each, one coloured layer and one black key layer.
Umbrasia, the first piece in this series, was inspired by my cats, JuJu and Mochi, as I often–like many pet owners do–talk to them as I go about my day. Their constant presence is comforting to me and their curiousness in my most mundane activities is passively entertaining. They are a part of my heart and soul and it is this sentiment that bore the concept for the central image in this piece. Here, JuJu eagerly claws for attention while Mochi is comfortably perched where the human heart would be.
Duration: 20 weeks
Illustration, Typography, Poster Design, Screen Printing
This is my BFA Capstone project created at Cornish College of the Arts
A jade plant is featured in the top left of the piece. This small, fleshy plant symbolises friendship, loyalty, and prosperity in relationships. The colours used for the print are symbolic of JuJu and Mochi as well, purple and red being the colours of their first collars, respectively. The bright, almost neon yellow used for the typography in the print is symbolic of the kitties’ bright, greenish-yellow eyes.
This original typeface is affectionately named SDS Display and was created specifically for the Skin Deep Sorrows project. The letterforms are largely designed to be perfectly square or circular in nature, giving an impression of stability. SDS Display features high contrast between thick and thin strokes with a combination of bracketed and hairline serifs. The whiplash linework and overall design concept is inspired by the Art Nouveau movement, which found the balance between the clean and modern, the decorative and natural, in it’s elements.
The type sample for SDS Display is presented in an 18”x30” lithography print accompanied by an illustration titled Astrophe. This illustration is a part of a past series of work that inspired the visual and thematic aesthetics for Skin Deep Sorrows.
Also used in the final poster prints are the Baskerville and Lato typefaces. These typefaces were chosen to compliment and accentuate the balanced organic and geometric features present in SDS Display.
Typography
The wistful sadness you feel when talking to your pet, knowing they do not understand the words you share with them, yet being comforted by their passive involvement in the conversation. You bring them along through trivial moments in your day, perhaps explaining to them the plot of the show you are watching, and hope they can in some way comprehend their significance in your everyday life.
pronounced uhm-BRAY-zhuh
From umbra (Latin, “the darkest part of a shadow”) and -sia (a suffix indicating “the condition of”)
Umbrasia (n.)
A lotus flower appears in the top left corner of the composition. In Buddhism, the lotus flower represents the link between the body a soul, calling upon themes such as resiliency and tranquility. The honeycomb pattern that appears beneath it and in the bottom right section of the piece brings forth the idea of interconnectivity. It is through the connection of body and soul that we as humans experience life.
The irreconcilable helplessness of feeling trapped in your body, referring to the condition of the soul, spirit, energy, etc being trapped with or within the physical self. Perhaps it is an illness that slowly dismantles the connection to your corporeal vessel or an impossible-to-remedy longing to experience the depths of space that makes your soul feel tied down to a cumbersome vessel.
pronounced soh-mah-new-MAY-zhuh
From soma (Latin, “the physical body”, pneuma (Ancient Greek, “breath of life”), and -sia (a suffix indicating “the condition of”)
Somapneumasia (n.)
Somapneumasia, the second piece in this series, captures the feeling of being trapped in both a corporeal and a metaphysical sense. The skull represents the physical body as the very structure within we live, linking the theme of mortality to the vessels in which we experience life. The skull is further confined to another form, the space suit, which too represents a bridge between life and death.
The pomegranate on the right horn is commonly associated with fertility, such as in the story of Persephone and Hades. The fig on the left horn represents the cycle of life, it’s sweetness confined to what some consider an ugly exterior. The oak leaves layered on the bottom right side of the composition symbolise strength and resilience. The runic form in the large circle at the top of the composition is a simplified illustration of the veins that run through a white oak leaf.
The debilitating exhaustion of living in a world that seems to not value human life the way it deserves. Wars rage on, technology replaces the human hand, and the natural world is ravaged by an imposter of humanity. The perpetual injustice and erasure of human touch and soul forces you to reevaluate your perceptions of society.
pronounced VTRAH-ti-zuhm
From vtrata (Ukrainian, “loss, waste, deprivation, forfeiture”) and -ism (a suffix indicating “belief in”)
Vtratism (n.)
Vtratism, the third piece in this series, was created with the connection between life and death at it’s core. The central image depicts a demon’s face in the shape of a uterus, finding the points at which life begins and ends. This piece was also inspired by Francisco Goya’s Black Paintings, which explored the artist’s disillusionment with society and humanity. The demonic face of a goat specifically references Witches Sabbath, which depicts an initiation ceremony with a goat-headed demon in the centre and the frail bodies of infants just beginning (or perhaps meeting the ends of) their young lives.
Oak tree rings adorn this piece, their many rings demonstrating durability and an immense strength that symbolise life and natural abundance. The whiplash linework and floral ornaments framing the composition are inspired by art nouveau, a movement that sought to reconnect humans to nature and restore the unbreakable connection that humans have with the natural world and all of the beauty found within it. The green and blue flowers are daylilies (which is notably not a species of lily), which are drought-tolerant and incredibly resistant to infestation.
The somber tranquility of nature at peace, undisturbed by the human hand. Experiencing the stillness of a lake in the wee hours of the morning or the eerie comfort of the stars in a clear, infinite sky, when ripples emerge from invisible life and flowers sway at their natural cadence. This often accompanied by the fear of a human force coming to wipe it all away.
pronounced SIL-veh-môr
From silva (Latin, “forest”) and timor (Latin, “awe, fear, dread”)
Silvimor (n.)
Silvimor, the fourth piece in this series, draws inspiration from the delicate nature of nature itself. The chickadee is a small bird that symbolises joy, adaptability, and fearlessness, all characteristics found in some capacity in the creatures of the natural world. Perched on the tip of a hunting knife, the bird finds it’s balance at the edge of a violent power that may sooner see it cast aside, it’s home stripped for selfish gain from the only hand that would craft such a weapon; that of a human.
Mushrooms commonly symbolise life, death, and transformation. In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice consumes two sides of the same mushroom, demonstrating the duality in their nature. The fly agaric mushroom on the bottom right side of the piece is often depicted in European folklore, practices which carry on through time as a result of shared experiences and the passing-on of materials and information. The reishi mushrooms at the top left of the piece is commonly associated with memory as consumption can aid in the strengthening of neural pathways.
The emotional weight an object holds when it is from a time or place far away, giving it a grave significance regardless of monetary value. Pressing your fingers into the fine details and pondering the origin of the item feels almost like communicating with each person who has also held it in their hands, a sort of passing on of history and the subsequent responsibility.
pronounced ch/a/-K/A/-lia
From tchotchke (Yiddish, “trinket, bauble”) and melancholia (Latin, “deep sadness, gloom”)
Tchotchkolia (n.)
Tchotchkolia, the fifth piece in this series, finds the convergence of memory and connection and how those things live on through both organic and manufactured forms. The matryoshka doll explores the concept of maternity and the mythology of carrying on memories through generations. The traditional Ukrainian vyshyvanka pattern adorning the dolls represents love, beauty, family memory, and connection. The forget-me-not flowers on either side of the matryoshka dolls are a symbol of remembrance and the power of memory.
The chamomile flower in the tea bag references the long-known restorative properties of the plant when consumed. The flower’s health benefits is first mentioned in writings from Hippocrates from around 370 B.C.E. In the tube to the right is a rosemary sprig, which possesses calming and restorative capabilities when consumed. This plant has also been used by humans for centuries for it’s health benefits and is first mentioned in Cuneiform tablets around 5000 B.C.E.
An emotional disconnect from new items or experiences despite the excitement and novelty of it. A sort of manufactured dissonance almost as if you have already processed the loss of it to space and time.
pronounced for-MÔRN
A portmanteau of before and mourn
Foremourn (n.)
Foremourn, the sixth piece in this series, is inspired by moments from art, culture, and history that capture the concept of emotional dissonance. The pear is a reference to Caravaggio’s Basket of Fruit, which depicts fruit on the brink of spoilage, their beauty tainted by their inevitable destruction and subsequent waste. The coconut references the coconut motif in Frida Kahlo’s work, notably Weeping Coconuts, which is symbolic of her ongoing pain following her tragic bus accident. The fruit, depicted crying in the aforementioned piece, represents the anguish of a life she has lost yet continues to live.
In J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth universe, the symbelmynë or evermind flower was supposedly inspired by the European anemone flower, small and white in appearance. The similarly small, white flowers in Tolkien’s universe are said to grow on the tombs of dead soldiers, their existence a somber marker of lives lost. These descriptions were used as inspiration for the flowers in evermind.
The emptiness of not being able to remember your own childhood, giving the story of your life a dystopian feel. An incomprehensible disconnect from the exact person who made you who you are today, lost to time.
pronounced EH-ver-mind
A play on the term nevermind (an urging to not feel anxiety or distress); reference to the symbelmynë (Rohan, “everlasting memory”) or the evermind flower in J.R.R. Tolkein’s Middle Earth universe
Evermind (n.)
Evermind, the seventh piece in this series, features flowers as the central imagery as they are so broadly entangled in rituals of life and death across human cultures. This connection is further found in the illustrations as the living flowers are eclipsed by images of their decaying selves. The blue portions of the illustrations are windows into the future of the beautiful specimens.
The tormented creatures are depicted desperately holding on to items reminiscent of plushies, comfort items that many may recall clinging to in their younger days. These items are illustrated to reflect the distorted nature of the creatures themselves, some with a few too many appendages and quirky, pained expressions. Despite the presence of these items, the little monsters remain distraught, unable to find solace in items meant to bring relief.
The desperate avoidance of nostalgia, driven by a fear or reconnecting to once-happy times and re-experiencing a sense of loss. The urge to destroy mementos and avoid places that hold deep memories because you cannot fondly remember them without feeling empty or bitter. A vicious cycle of mourning that seems to self-perpetuate.
pronounced REE-beh-rehft
From re- (a prefix indicating”again”) and bereft (“deprived of”)
Rebereft (n.)
Rebereft, the eighth and final piece in this series, aims to capture the anguish of nostalgia. The illustrations are inspired by the inability to let go of memories that are simultaneously comforting and contorted. This idea lives in depictions of items that are connected to an experience most commonly associated with nostalgia: childhood. Adorable yet haunted figures represent the contorted versions of ourselves that we see when looking back in time. They are lovable and soft yet grotesque in the ways that we see them in the present moment.
