We all having preconceptions of what we consider to be “Living” and “Dead”. Even children, who have been introduced to these concepts through school, have an idea of what a living thing is and what a dead thing is, and it seems as though these two concepts stand as an objective binary within which we can categorize things in the natural world. However, when one really looks into it, the lines between “living” and “dead” are actually quite blurred.
I have explored these ideas through an illustrated book that deals with the concepts of “living” and “dead” in the world around us. It is aimed at children aged 4– 9 years, and tries address our preconceived ideas of what is living and what is dead. It aims to question and explore these concepts in order to demystify and simplify them for children. It looks at the various characteristics assigned to a “living” and questions them, trying to provide a different lens through which they can see the natural world. The book also looks at processes such as decomposition in order to understand the relationship between living and dead, and tries to see what we can learn from death. The aim for the book is to have broadened the reader’s perspective on what is living and hopefully garner a greater empathy for everything in the natural world.
PROCESS
STORYBOARDS
Concept Art / explorations
