Xinrui Wang
I am a graphic designer and illustrator. During my studies at GSA, I focused on visual narrative, working on illustration and animation. Most of my work is inspired by life, but at the same time, I find an implicit connection to reality in stories, fiction, history, etc., and express it in a concise and straightforward format.
A Subaltern’s Love Song
‘A Subaltern’s Love Song’ by John Betjeman is a humorous, upbeat poem that tells of the fantasy love the poet had for Miss Joan Hunter Dunn. The illustration book is visually illustrated with traditionally seemingly timeless poetic and romantic imagery, as well as cultural, historical, and social images of that particular era, using a nostalgic palette full of memories to present the romance in that long-ago period.
HUSH
This animation tells a story of a woman struggling with anxiety due to the information overload under the coronavirus. In the end, she gets rid of her anxiety in some positive and effective ways. I hope that through this animation, people will be optimistic about this severe situation of the coronavirus, reduce the reception of too much negative information, and adjust their mentality.
I structured the story in three parts, starting with a realistic background setting, then moving on to the emotional expression of inner anxiety, and finally returning to the real world to overcome the anxiety. I use a lot of metaphors to represent abstract anxiety, translating emotional feelings into visual and perceptible images. At the same time, I applied gloomy colors and a nervy soundtrack to try to resonate with the audience.
