Hello, my name is Maxim, and I am currently part of the Communication Design MA programme at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen. I will be focusing my project on issues concerning migration.
I made this collage because I reflected on the one I had previously thought for this story:
I wanted to explore different ideas of a jacaranda tree, so I took the purple color of the flowers out and placed it in the background of this self portrait. I imagined this is what my jacaranda tree would look like if it were to bloom anywhere but the front of my house. It would have to be on the top of my head.
It was Mother’s Day in Mexico, and my mother and I Facetimed. We listened to the street trumpet player play «Perfume de Gardenias«, who then rang the doorbell to collect tips. For a moment, it felt like the doorbell of my Aberdeen apartment was ringing, too. I made a video of the moment:
My mother is strength and fire and flowers and the earth that grounds me and the legs that carry me. I do not know how she did it, but the little holes between my toes are the perfect size to let the grass in when I stand. For this, the fire, the flowers and the legs, I am very and genuinely grateful.
This is a little story about medium-sized creatures with big responsibilities. I continued to develop the concept of psychopomps and juxtaposition of Mexican and Scottish folklore. I called them kelpabrijes; they are a part kelpie, part alebrije and transport souls on their backs to what I imagine a Scottish/Mexican afterlife looks like: it’s in the mountains. I made these illustrations with ink, color pencil, and digital retouch. The story reads:
When the little souls began to float away, they held on to the rowan berries as they flew past the tree tops. They each took one and let the weight bring them back down to the ground, landing close to the river bank. The kelpabrijes waited patiently.
“May I have your ticket?”, the tallest kalpebrije asked.
The little soul looked around and noticed other little souls handing the rowan berries to the kalpebrijes.
“One single trip, please”, she said as she handed over hers.
The kelpabrije tied a red string around the berry and gave it back to the little soul.
“Where are we going?”, she asked.
“Upstream, to the mountains, where the river begins”, the kalpebrije replied as he walked towards the water. The little soul followed and felt the strings on the berries pull with every step. She looked at the other little souls and noticed they were all now connected.
The kelpabrije got in the water and offered his back to the little soul.
I made this illustration last semester. It says «Saint Toribio Romo wishes you safe travels, wherever you are going, for whatever the reason». It was inspired by the amulets some migrants buy in a Mexico City market, which include:
The amulet costs around 500 Mexican pesos, which you have to pay in US Dollars, around 25. I have animated it, so it mimics the movement of fairy lights people put on altars they build on the street corners of Mexico.
I made this portrait of Eric Fabián, who I interviewed last semester about his experience as a migrant in Aberdeen. We talked about a lot of aspects of life and the reasons why we leave our homes and families and what we bring with us. He always wears a black hat.
Eric Fabián said that there are people that are like trees and grow thick roots and others that are like birds and fly away, and he said he felt like a bird with roots because he was very attached to his. I was curious to explore how a bird with roots looks like. A black hat seemed appropriate. I made this into a poster imagining it would be the first thing someone arriving would see and read.
I think animation could bring a dynamic quality to the narrative in digital storytelling.
I made this gif from an illustration I made about protests in Mexico denouncing femicides. I think it could be an interesting format to present my work digitally.
Maxim Zaragoza 