'Wings' illustrated comic: a true story of severe asthma

Drawing on Reality: My process involves a metaphorical approach to the spoken word. For this project, I pushed the notion of caged birds to represent the tightness in the chest, breathlessness and the sense of feeling trapped inside a failing body.

Throughout my comic, the birds are seen moving frantically about the cage to indicate an asthma attack. Three birds are symbolic of the members of the asthma sufferer’s family, who were also impacted by her illness. Following from the life-changing treatment, the birds are ultimately set free.

It was an honour to work on an illustration project which raises awareness of such an important issue. As an illustrator I felt the responsibility to deliver somebody’s lived experiences in a sensitive and accurate manner.

This is why I am an illustrator: to create and to make a difference!