"The Prophet's Hair" Illustrations
Cover and inside illustrations for the short story "The Prophet's Hair" by Salman Rushdie, exploring the story's themes of fate, control versus chaos,and darkness amidst beauty.
The story follows a wealthy family living in the valley of Kashmir during a harsh winter, to whom misfortune falls when the father of the family comes across the mystical Prophet's hair and becomes obsessed and abusive.
These scenes were created by painting on a broken plate with watercolor, and photographing the compositions against a sheet of ice. The broken plate results from a moment in the text, just before the hair has been found:
"Within a few hours, however, the glassy contentment of that household, of that life of porcelain delicacy and alabaster sensibilities, was to be shattered beyond all hope of repair."
Completed in Fall 2016, using a broken plate, watercolor, ice, and photography.