NEXUS

'NEXUS', 2025. Graphite and ink on bristol, watercolour, and sketch paper. 6 x 4'.

This is my grad project for Emily Carr University's 2025 Grad show. In short, NEXUS outlines my current method of early narrative ideation. At one point, I was willing to write and illustrate an entire book in 4 months about a dystopian version of Vancouver and these random characters I’d dreamt up one night. However, spending time to take in the cityscape and noticing every detail that made Vancouver unique helped me understand that this was not the sort of story that could be rushed. Sufficient time to properly represent the landscape was clearly needed. This installation is the first step (of hopefully not too many steps) to planning out a graphic novel for young adult audiences featuring the city of Vancouver.

Walking through the physical cityscape, drawing what I saw, and recording details such as foliage, light sources, graffiti, and landmarks allowed me to resonate with the subject on a much deeper level. Being in a position where I could not only see, but also hear, smell, touch, and journey through the environment made each sketch less a drawing and more like memory.

I wanted to choose an inherently neutral medium to represent my findings and decided on water-soluble graphite. A soft, grey tone with touches of expressive, watercolour-like textures perfectly encapsulated the tone of the dystopian world I was imagining. At the end of each visit, I was left with was a plethora of references to draw inspiration from when attempting to reimagine the same cityscape 28 years in the future.

Click 'Additional Info' on the left to visit the Grad Show 2025 webpage for my project. There you can find more info on the environments, characters, and the installation itself.