I like observing and drawing people. I have always had an interest in narratives of people and their social context. I like to learn about people by observing or listening to their stories, e.g., what they do in their everyday life, how they behave or think. Sometimes it is nice to stop, to take in my surroundings and look at people interacting because by observing and paying attention I not only learn about others but also about myself.
My main aim was to investigate and explore the effect of the current situation on social dynamics. My project is about social distancing and everyday life during Covid19, and how people behave.
As for my research method, I choose to explore this subject through autoethnography, which involved reportage illustration with location-based engagement. Hence, I became the external observer.
At first, I was looking at interaction in the broadest sense, so, I started asking questions about how to shift my point of view. Reframing and zooming in on my images helped me greatly with narrowing down my focus to nonverbal cues. In nonverbal communication there are certain indicators that we can look at, such as facial expressions, body language, gesture, posture, proximity.
By making this connection and analysing the data, my archival illustrations, helped me to unveil and understand the bigger picture. My aim was that, by doing in dept research about nonverbal communication, body language and how to read and understand people’s nonverbal cues I can get an insight on how people behave during Covid19.
The moving images gives the readers an extra fulfilling experience and it also compliments the topic of non-verbal interaction. The viewer gets a glimpse of that specific moment of how the illustrator interprets and communicates her subject, thus creating a better understanding for the audience of the entailed story behind the illustrations.
