Falling Short
Year Three: Final Year Show
Falling Short is an autobiographical exploration into the relationships a young adult shares with their past selves.
This piece was inspired by the feeling of not living up to expectations set by younger versions of one’s self. As a child we often imagine what we will be when we “grow up”, whether it be a famous singer touring the globe, or an explorer deep in the rainforest. However, we rarely ponder who we will be. We assume that we will retain the same personality and values from the age of four, right through our teens and twenties, until we are old and grey.
Vinyl typography
Through a fictional dialogue between the twenty one year old author and four younger iterations of herself, Falling Short delves into the personal, perceived short-comings of the author. It raises questions around adulthood and identity.
Selected spreads from the book
The book is mainly a textual piece and as such there is a strong focus on typography. A neutral, sans-serif typeface is used to relay the thoughts of the twenty one year old. This neutrality is employed to convey the author’s apparent loss of identity. The younger voices are united by a common typeface.
The four are then differentiated by various visuals. The youngest voice is that of the four year old and is signalled by grainy, blown up images of nature, encouraging the reader to recall how children look upon the world: up-close and full of wonder. The seven year old is represented by the bold red colour meant to represent how at that age one is entirely unselfconscious and confident. An organic texture indicates how the ten year old’s desire to do the right thing by the environment, as well as by others. The fourteen year old is characterised by a cooler colour palette and a crumpled effect.
Type detail on the book cover
As a personal piece, Falling Short attempts to make peace between the self of the present and those of the past.
Full exhibition space
