Illustrations inspired by my childhood nightmare.
When I was a kid, my granny had told me a lot of awful stories, all in an effort to keep me safely at home and away from adventures. I have an artistic plan to illustrate the bestiary of my granny, including children with no hands, legs and tongue pretending to be a dog or pigs that ate her neighbor child, who tries to pet them. One of my granny's all-time favorite narrations is about gypsies who would one day whisk me away.
The nightmare I've chosen to illustrate has plagued me on at least ten separate occasions throughout various stages of my life. The scenario is simple: gypsies, hiding their faces under the bird masks, kidnaped me and forced to beg for money. They left me naked, because naked people look more poor, so gain more sympathy and get more money. Streets were crowded, but I remained unnoticed, even by my own friends and family, who failed to recognize me in my unclothed state, having always known me having cloth. My attempts to escape were met with an inability to run. In the end I just gave up and took my bird mask - symbolizing me being a part of their community.
