ABOUT THE PROJECT
The author Jorge Luis Borges' writing style is often mystical, somewhat magical, and borrows heavily on the esoteric, yet many of his stories begin with apparently mundane circumstances. In the most unexpected ways, a mind-bending, strange reality unfolds from a seemingly commonplace, or at least familiar reality.
While a whimsical and complex approach to the design was what I considered at first, I instead decided that a very open and clean approach would be best. As the stories take their supernatural twists and turns, the complexity and magic is accentuated in the frequent and unexpected breaks in flow and layout that came as a result of the flow Borges' writing style.
My overall approach to the illustration was to focus in on small, esoteric details from each story and bring them into focus. However, for the short story Averroë's Search, which focuses mainly on the thoughts of the historical figure and philosopher as he studies the literature of a culture that is somewhat foreign to him, I decided to draw in detail the surroundings of the room that he is in as he sits to read and ponder, as well as the details of a scene, described from his point of view, which is taking place outside his window.
