Hull Is Full Zine

Hull Is Full

A friend contacted me about a project he was currently undertaking in response to societal unrest with the current Syrian immigration issue in Britain. A facebook page had popped up called "Hull is Full" ran by a group of people who believed that Hull, and Britain as a whole, should not take in anymore Syrian refugees. The page shared ridiculous, uneducated and factually incorrect status and pictures that supported their ideals. Wes, who studies photography in Manchester, wanted to produce a zine that counteracted this statement; that showcased the kinder side to Hull. Another page under the same name had already come about as a parody to the original and it felt good to know that a lot of people rejected the quite often, racist and idiotic views of the original page.

So Wes began work on H u l l I s F u l l (of great ideas), he wanted the first issue to be centered around the theme of immigration, with later issues being produced under the name 'Combat'. I was given free reign over the kind of work I wanted to submit for the publication; the only specs were A5 digital file. I began tackling this brief by doing some reading on the situation in Syria, and eventually came across an article investigating the decline of bread production within the country since the start of the war. Bread is often a traditional staple meal of the Syrian people, and both the government and terrorists had been using this to manipulate and control areas of the state. I wanted a piece that took this into consideration and told the story, but related back to the issue of immigration of this country. I came up with the idea of 'breaking bread', something used to signify friendship and community, that linked in rather well with the story I was trying to tell.

With a few tweaks I scanned in one of my original sketches and wrote a short piece for the illustration to fit into an editorial style context. I kept the line at the side from where I'd scanned in the image, with some of the grain and dark spots too. I like the DIY feel the piece had, it didn't have to be shiny and polished to convey the message I wanted it to.

Moving Forward

I enjoyed the process of this piece a lot, research is something I actually quite enjoy and making work with depth is something I'd like to continue with my practice for the foreseeable future. Editorial work is however is something I've never found to be appealing, while I enjoy telling stories and having context and depth to my work, I enjoy having the time to research and form my own opinions on subjects rather than illustrating other peoples. I think I enjoyed this brief as it allowed me that freedom, and felt a lot more like reportage illustration than something editorial. The zine context also allowed me to keep my work raw without over editing; I feel my illustrations work well like this. My sketchbook images are often ones I feel are the most powerful. It's about how I clean up and process these images so they appear finished in my final work.