Short comic, 2024, Xing Chen

This is a story about the distortion of self in the mirror of social media beauty standards.

Project Brief:
Produce a wordless visual narrative; the only text permitted is the title. Use two colours plus the colour of the paper stock. The publication must be made using a maximum of two A3 sheets, including the cover. Create three identical, reproducible print copies.

Please enjoy the digital version below:

The printed publication:

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When she was young, she was obsessed with being pretty, which means, to look like a rabbit. Everyone thought that rabbits were beautiful.

She hung posters of rabbits on her wall, and dreamed about looking like them.

She tied her ears up so that her ears could look like the rabbits’.

She took selfies and edited them to make herself look alike.

She posted her rabbit-like photos on social media, and people were praising how beautiful she looked.

She was confused but also obsessed.

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Rabbits stand for a prevalent beauty standard.

I used to think that if you were pretty enough, everyone would like you.

but now I have realised a hard way that, being pretty to be looked at is just objectifying yourself, as a pretty object for people to gaze, and, more, as a woman, what you would get is misogynic judgements, or they would think that it is all you have got. 

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The Beagle-Harrier is a breed of dog originating from France. It is originally bred to hunt hares. 

A harrier wants to be a hare, it turns itself from a hunter to be hunted. It goes from a strong position into a vulnerable place. 

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Drafts: