THE OTHER HAND

This was a particularly challenging project. The hardcover version of this book had a really beautiful illustration and big things were expected of the paperback and there wasn't any definitive brief on whether or not the cover should be photographic or illustrative. Not to give anything away but one of the stories in the book centers on a woman who had her finger chopped off in exchange for allowing an African girl to go free, which is why many of the illustrations I created feature hands of different color and with a finger missing, but the larger of the themes in the book explores the cultural differences and attitudes in the west towards refugees from war torn countries and what happens when they seek asylum in a peacful country which is what I was aiming to explore with some of the other designs. I like also the idea of a raised palm being interpreted as a wave hello or a sign to say "wrong way go back" which seemed to fit well with the books themes, but was ultimately discarded for a more subtle image of a boy on a beach which relates loosely to a scene at the closing of the book.