JHOANNE CASTRO
ARTY, AMIHAN, AND ARIA
A trifecta of anecdotes exploring social identity
University of Michigan | Sophomore Studio | Winter 2017
Three short stories about three defining parts of me: a college student studying art and design (Arty), an immigrant who feels out-of-place in both her new and “home” country (Amihan), and a girl who is terrible at being “girly” (Aria). Each story is a journey of self-discovery and identity, exploring how it feels not to fit in and how it feels to belong.
These three stories were digitally illustrated, then printed into three booklets named after each character: Arty, Amihan, and Aria. I created the book covers and bound the books by hand. In order to demonstrate the importance of getting to know someone and not judge a book by their cover, each book is blank on the outside — only by reading their story will we find out who they are.
Three Stories, Three Styles
Exploring social identity through artistic style
The three stories are intentionally drawn in three different styles, to visualize each character as well as to better suit the character’s story.
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Arty follows the style of mid-century children’s book illustrations. This inspiration correlates with the old-fashioned views in the story, the limited color palette reiterates the limitations of her family’s expectations, and the geometric art style juxtaposes practicality against Arty’s stereotypically “impractical” study of art.
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Amihan is drawn in my own style, which relates to Amihan’s homeward struggles. My art style is something I have grown into, in parallel to Amihan’s situation about growing into a Filipino-American.
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Aria follows the style of Japanese shoujo manga, a genre of graphic novels that targets a young female demographic, to reiterate the gender divisions that occur in her story.
Arty represents my passion for art and my doubt in the creative field. Aria represents my femininity and questions my self-worth in a world of exaggerated gender norms. Amihan represents my heritage, my immigrant childhood and family, wanting nothing more than a place to call “home.”
