THE COVER ARTS
Graphic Design: Anja Jolin
Photography: Nathan Valencia
I had the honor of working with my two talented friends, Anja Jolin and Nathan Valencia, who collaborated in creating mixed media cover arts for my album.
Nathan’s film photography was printed on canvas, which was then arranged by Anja with a multitude of different textures.
Each cover art has the titles stitched by Anja, along with motifs that are hidden throughout each single, which ultimately present itself in the final album art altogether—lace, candle wax, film, and reflective glass.
To pay homage to my roots, I had Anja stitch my Baybayin name on the album cover as well.
The lace represents the divide between reality and fantasy. This theme presents itself in a couple songs, most notably in “chasing daydreams”, where I find myself being immersed in the many different fantasies that deviated me from reality.
The candle wax portrays this contrast between my solid, physical self in the present, and the elusive, ideal version of who I want to be. Wax is also seen as a way to preserve or seal something, which is what I feel I have been trying to do my entire life—preserving a version of me that doesn’t exist yet rather than who I am now.
The film strips depict my desire to string a series of moments, even ones that are fabricated, and keep it frozen in time so I can replay it over and over again. I found myself creating scenes in my head especially when it came to love, so much so that I forget they’re not real, because they don’t know I exist.
The reflective glass exemplifies the reflections of myself I see in other people, especially ones that have hurt me. “kin” explores this theme heavily as it is a song about my relationship with my father and generational trauma, and how that cycle reflects itself in the dynamic between me and someone I love.