Both these projects were from a printing class that taught me how use a risograph and were prompted by a reading.


The speech The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action  by Audre Lorde served as the inspiration for this project. The author pushes the reader to reflect on the things they did not have words for or they had been silent about. The reading caused me to think back to the experience my brothers and I had when leaving for boarding school. The idea of things we did not have words for reminded me of the feelings I had when my older brother, and then eventually myself, left home for high school. I was not able to recognize the gravity of what was happening because I was young, but it eventually dawned on me that I would never live with both of my brothers again. Despite my family unit being separated and feeling despondent about the situation, I never said anything meaningful or heartfelt to my brother when he left because I was only 13 and did not know how to verbalize feelings of abandonment or loss. I was inspired to make two poster series that would be statements to my older brother when he left and my younger brother when I left.

For the subject of the poster I chose to use statues of the biblical figures my brother and I were named after: Andrew the Apostle and Archangel Gabriel. I felt this was significant because a major part of my childhood with my siblings was our parents using biblical stories to teach us how to get along. I associated parables and biblical teachings with how I treated my brothers, so using the actual figures we were named after represented the biblical morals we used as the basis for our relationship.

Risograph 11” x 17”

I decided to title the posters after the years these events took place, so 2014 for my older brother leaving and 2016 for when I left. For the 2014 series I focused on the idea that this was the first time me and my siblings would not live together. It was a breaking up of a trio that I had been a part of my entire life, and I remember regretting how I never told my older brother how much his presence would be missed. It was only after he left this experience that I was able to truly appreciate the time we spent together growing up.

Risograph 11” x 17”

For the 2016 series I wanted to shift the focus to my little brother. Despite knowing how hard it had been on me and him when my older brother left, I still made the choice to leave home. It is a decision I still question to this day on whether the education opportunity was worth missing out on 3 years of my only little brother growing up. I never said anything along the lines of an apology for what I did, but I always felt like I owed him one. This poster served as a physical “I’m sorry” to my brother.


The point of the animation would be to convey that, although at times one can feel they must constantly be getting an edge above peers in order to find success, life does not inherently reward the quick; instead we should spend the limited time we have pursuing something that gives us satisfaction. I decided on the phrase “Go your own speed, life isn’t a race” to represent this idea. I chose the animation these to be futuristic with lots of chrome and reflective surfaces because I wanted to represent the idea that this myth speculates about the future. I wanted to represent the idea that slow and steady progress is still positive and people should not be dismayed if their life seems to advance slower than their peers. I chose to make a human model walk to represent this idea of personal steady progress. I also utilized varying speeds in the animation, the camera track, the walking and the text animation all happen at different speeds to communicate my myth.