A Letter to My Uterus
This project was developed as part of an assignment where students were asked to create a zine centered around a visual design narrative that engages with the theme of decolonization in design. My approach was deeply personal and reflective—I created a poetry and collage zine that explores themes of bodily autonomy, personal history, and reclaiming narrative through visual storytelling. At the core of the zine are images of my own uterus, taken during a past surgery, which I layered with cut-out phrases from my favorite book. By rearranging and recontextualizing these words, I crafted a new poetic voice that was both intimate and expressive, allowing me to make meaning from fragments of text and experience.
The physical design of the zine was just as intentional as its content. I used wooden children’s stamps to create the lettering on the covers, adding a tactile, almost playful element that contrasts with the heavy subject matter. The zine was hand-bound using a traditional Japanese bookbinding technique, emphasizing care, craft, and time as essential components of the process. This project allowed me to challenge conventional forms of design by centering personal narrative, handmade elements, and decolonial thinking in both form and concept.
This zine is also featured in Thread, an exhibition curated by Celeste Tooth at the Make Studio Gallery in Baltimore, MD.