There Is No Place Like Home

Through a critical narrative of adoption, race, class and betweenship, it explores intersectional illustration methods and centres the image as the primary vehicle of narration. The illustrations challenge norms, expectations and systems by embracing dynamic storytelling that questions image hierarchies, status and taste.

The part called the Companion, outlines how the graphic novel was created as a research project. It presents the background, theory, method, intention, and sources while actively reflecting on position, readability, communication, transparency, and accessibility.

The graphic novel is the materialisation of research through artistic practice, which is responsible for being in dialogue with the questions asked through artistic expression. It emphasises style, narration, craft and language working outside of modernist aesthetic value systems, with craftsmanship, time-consuming detail, colour and ornament as core visual values.
 The graphic novel and its Companion work together to present this artistic research project in an accessible way to audiences beyond academia by reflecting on and adapting language, sources and references. Through the interplay of text and image, the work tells the story of a personal journey while embodying political agency, calling for change and offering an alternative approach through a format that is educational, inviting, and open.