the full poster, silkscreened with dyes
detail of the lettering, the letterforms were drawn digitally and then traced by hand on acetate
scan of my sketches, it was quite a meticulous process

oosaka-ya

    • CLIENT

    • self-initiated

    • ROLES/PROCESSES

    • typography
    • silkscreen

    • DETAILS

    • hand-drawn pixelated japanese characters (kanji)
    • 24" x 36" poster
    • silkscreen with dyes

in 2006 i took the opportunity to study abroad at osaka university of arts (大阪芸術大学) in osaka, japan. looking back, it really was a turning point in my life – as an experience, it taught me that i knew much about what i was comfortable with and absolutely nothing about the world beyond that. in a word, it was humbling.

while i enjoyed learning about myself, learning about a new country, and learning about a new culture, i also struggled to come to terms with it all as a big part of learning is struggling and failing. in the end, i feel i came out a better person, better prepared to move forward in my life, but i was also very conflicted about what had ‘just happened’ to me. to express some of this confusion and frustration, i initiated a series of projects to address several different subjects.

this poster contains a hidden haiku representing my feeling towards the city of osaka.

translation
osaka,
because you are my friend
i wonder, are you also my foe?