The cold wintry wind
that blows so hard that
the sun sinks in the ocean
- Natsume Soseki
The haiku above has been written by the Famous Japanese poet Natsume Soseki. Natsume undertook a degree in English and taught English in the Japanese provinces till the year 1900 until he received a government scholarship in England.
The reason I have selected this haiku because it speaks to me about a lot of tragic or unhappy experiences that an individual would feel at some point in their life. Natsume Soseki's work often portrays isolation or loneliness a person feels in their life. These key themes are portrayed in the Haiku above too
Day and Night is a poster created to portray the theme of contrast. The haiku describes the cold wind pushing onto the sun. These stand on opposite spectrum. Therefore I tried to create the theme with using elements from the haiku. The constraints around the poster were that we could only use basic shapes and had to show repetition.
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I tried to show contrast in the poster by dividing the visual elements into opposites. Used black and white for the same shapes sitting in opposite spectrum. I used wavy lines in the dark side in order to show the cold winds which makes a direct link to the haiku. These 'winds' are horizontally orientated towards the sun which is shown in black which contradicts the belief of the sun being bright. The wavy wind lines are contrasted with sharp pointed lines in the vertical orientation. Everything is symmetrical but in contrast except the spacing that the dark side takes. This is to make another link to haiku where the winds are overpowering the sun. Therefore the dark side holds a greater area in the poster.
Alone has been created with the theme of loneliness or being alone in mind. The haiku describes the sun being pushed away by the sun. Even though the sun is a might force of nature, the winds are pushing it away because the sun is 'alone' in this situation. The sense of being alone and isolated is a characteristic which can be Natsume Soseki's work. The constraint around the poster was that it was to be digitally designed.
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I tried to show loneliness in the poster through the drowning hand. The hand represented being alone in the sense that there is no one to help the person. The hand was a signifier which signified the theme of being alone. The grey waters represent a emotionless neutral vibe which shows loss. This loss could be having no friends or someone to help in life. Along with the hand, the sinking sun in the back plays as a second visual effect making a direct link to the haiku with the black background pushing onto the setting sun.
Uncertain times was created with the understanding of the theme of clash. Based on the haiku, the sun and the winds are in a form of clash against each other. It is like two forces of nature going up against each other. The poster had to be a storyboard that revealed a plot , twist and a reveal at the end.
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With initial ideas of using specific characters to show clash. My poster developed into something that could represent current situations. The COVID-19 pandemic and humans. The story board reveals a plot with humans fighting against each other for personal gain. Countries at war for oil, land etc. The increased population leading to over mining and production of materials from natural resources. The pandemic begins to appear in the world leading to deaths. The change in human behavior due to the take over of the pandemic and the change in human attitude towards one another.
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Another back story running in the poster are some literal elements from the haiku added to the poster. The winds in the third slide represent the winds of the pandemic pushing against the world. In the last slide , the sun is sinking behind the mountain but is shining very brightly to show that the human spirit of togetherness can overcome and win any clash.