Jenifer Wofford, a contemporary artist from San Francisco, has created a series of works dedicated to Flor Villanueva, an imaginary immigrant from the Philippines. The drawings were initially outlined in ink and later colored and positioned in a photo editor. They show a Filipino nurse who moved to the US to help her family financially in the art project called Flor 1973-78. The poster “Flor 1975” shows several scenes of the nurse’s brief visit to Manila, her home city.
The drawing’s composition reminds the viewers of the crossword puzzle or a preview for a photo gallery. The top left corner features a large rectangular image of Flor exiting the airport in Manila and reaching toward the child’s arms, probably belonging to her young relative. The other five drawings show scenes from visiting family in the Philippines; the artist placed them along the first picture’s right and bottom edges. The order of the story is not clear, but none of the images seem out of place. The poster is similar to the comic book but without the direct plot patterns. The text under the drawings describes what is featured in one to two sentences. The manner of captions suggests diary or short letter style. The viewers could imagine Flor’s voice reading the lines aloud, although every person would have their idea of the tone and speaking manner.
The lines are sharp, and the colors are bright and clear, although Wofford uses shadows and wrinkle lines to show the details in her drawings. Flor’s clothes are mainly yellow and green, and the poster’s background is turquoise, which could be a reminder of the tropical climate and nature of her Motherland. The artist also draws parts of the people’s bodies, for example, arms or upper back. This allows the viewers to use their imagination to complete the composition of the poster fragments. The gray background shifts the focus to the bright objects and people’s faces. The characters show distinct emotions, such as happiness, nervousness, or curiosity (Wofford, 2008). All that creates a cozy and optimistic impression from the several scenes featured on Wofford’s poster.
Reference
Wofford, J. (2008). Flor 1975. San Francisco Arts Commission, San Francisco, California, United States. Wofflehouse. Web.