Unplayed Piano Book
This is a visual representation of Damien Rice’s song, “Unplayed Piano”, which was originally written to support the Free Aung San Suu Kyi 60th Birthday campaign. Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and advocate for democracy, was under house arrest at that time.
Traditional materials were used: charcoal for the illustrations, and pen and ink for the lettering, which is done on a separate paper and added in digitally. These 18 pieces at almost 13" x 14.5" were reduced to a 4" x 4.5" book, and then printed on classic linen paper to go with the texture of the materials.
Credits: Damien Rice – Unplayed Piano
The inside panels show the loneliness of being subjected to detention. Suddenly, the once comforting place has become a great discomfort, a hindrance, a prison. However, a lot of things have happened since the campaign, and one of these is her release. The progression to that event is shown through the lightening values and the sudden change from the book’s linear format. The bright outside panels represent how people continued to advocate for non-violence and democracy throughout her house arrest.
