Bruno Valasse | Mexico
Shine is a three-colour screen-printed concertina about overcoming one-self's fears, and finding –as well as sharing– a community in doing so.
I developed a narrative from a childhood memory about being afraid of and attracted by the dark-and-starry night skies, which also paradoxically triggered the idea for the main character to be a moth.
The three overlapping colour layers were created using pencils and crayons on tracing paper, roller textures and digital media, then rendered into a halftone to keep the tonal ranges and marks when screen printing.
The main character starts their journey surrounded by other moths but decides to leave out of curiosity. He migrates. He has a connection with light sources: stars make the character step outside and follow luminous fireflies who end up adopting him as part of their community after he builds up his courage to help them. The story culminates in a lighthouse they light up themselves: a place without darkness.
Light works as a metaphor for safety and company, but also clarifies that loneliness is a state in which these discoveries and findings happen. The back cover of the book shows the same moths present in the opening scene holding a postcard, which depicts a lighthouse. It could be an invitation to join the newly formed community or that the whole story was told to them by means of an epistolary connection, or they might have imagined the whole thing. That is up to the reader to decide.
Education:
Anglia Ruskin University / Cambridge School of Arts
Children's Book Illustration MA
Graduation: 2022