Studio Brief 1 - Hexen 2.0

Suzanne Treister has worked through the format of the Tarot card to connect historical knowledge into a kind of 'alchemical hypertext'. As a result the designs are very complex, delving into interweaving subjects such as science, politics, history and society.

'Ms. Treister delivers her thinking not in a footnote-larded treatise but in the form of a set of tarot cards, each illustrating in cartoon drawings and handwritten text a person, idea or event that changed the course of 20th-century history.'

'Through representing and re-examining these subjects and histories through the lens of occult belief systems and ideas of the supernatural, the 'HEXEN 2.0 Tarot' takes us to a hypnotic, mesmerising space from where one may imagine and construct possible alternative futures.' - https://www.vam.ac.uk/shop/hexen-2-0-tarot-cards-box-set.html

10.2 x 3.8 x 15.9 cm  - The cards are fairly big, this allows for rich detail and textural experimentation. I hope to make my own a similar size.
 
The designs are incredibly illustrated, showing good use of detail and shading. The style is distinctive and not precise, giving them a feel of spontaneity and power. Perhaps I can adopt a similar hand drawn style - looking at illustrations from the time Fado was born in Portugal.