April 30, 2020

THINGS THAT GO AWAY

Things That Go Away is another beautiful and powerful story from Beatrice Alemagna centered on love and self-reflection.


Things in our lives come and go. You get a wound on your knee and it fades, steam eventually evaporates into the air, and wet tears dry as they fall. Our lives are full of these fleeting moments and changing elements, and there's nothing to stop the passage of time, whether it be good or bad. Things That Go Away examines some of these transformations and comes to the conclusion that everything in life changes save for one thing: the love between a parent and their child.


The illustrations were created with oil paints, and between each spread lies a page made of vellum. These vellum pages have black, inked images that transfer from one side of the spread to the other: we see a girl sleeping and then flip the vellum page to see her sleeping eyes transfer to her pet while her eyes are now open. Vellum is the absolute perfect touch to the otherwise heavy, thick pages because it distinctly shows readers how things come and go, how they move from right to left, from wet to dry, from life to death. Only the final two spreads of the book are vellum-less, reinforcing the message that nothing can sever the bond between a parent and child.


Things That Go Away published last month from Abrams.



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