Welcomings – tiny, silent book
ILLUSTRATION // Client: Art project & exhibition piece
Project Description
This project is part of an Illustrators Ireland project called “Welcomings”
Welcomings is a series of 21 tiny books created by members of Illustrators Ireland that also formed an exhibition. The books were made specially for, and offered as a gesture to, refugees & asylum seekers in Ireland. These 8-page zine-style books have few or no words throughout to be accessible to people of all languages and allow the reader to tell their own story based on what they see. Each A6 book folds out to reveal a hidden A3 poster on the back.
My contribution to “Welcomings” is wordless and titled “On a Wing and a Prayer”. I used the swallow bird as a symbol for migration. Long associated with the arrival of spring, we joyfully welcome them each year as they make the arduous journey from southern Africa over the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert. A flight can take up to six weeks spanning about 7,500 miles. It’s a journey of necessity for the swallows to ensure their survival, reflecting the journeys that many migrants are forced to make from their homeland.
