Dubliners (1914)
I wanted to use something symbolic to represent each of the 15 short stories that make up Dubliners. I chose to focus on one pivotal character from each story and portray them by the type of hat they wore. Hats were a common part of people’s dress in the early 20th century. They suggested a person’s status and their place in a hierarchical society. They also said something about their character.
I needed something else to give an overall sense of place. The Georgian door has become synonymous with the architectural landscape of Dublin’s city centre. Arranging the hats like panels on a door and adding a semi-circular fanlight above helped to create the overall structure.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916)
A coming of age story based on Joyce’s early life. The illustration shows a church window. It is also representative of a bird cage. It depicts the artist’s eventual flight from the heavy confines of religious doctrine to a new life where he would later blossom as a true artist.
Ulysses (1922)
Joyce’s best known work. A landmark in literary history. It seemed fitting to show the author. The illustration is intentionally stark. It is an attempt to capture the artist’s physical essence.
Finnegans Wake (1939)
Finnegan’s Wake does not describe a dream, the text is a dream. Or at least it comes as close as Joyce could bring it to imitating a dream.* The closed eyes suggest someone sleeping. The sunrise symbolises the eventual awakening from dream-state. The clouds depict dreams.
* William York Tindall, Syracuse University Press, 1996
Bloomsday Poster
Bloomsday celebrates Thursday 16 June 1904 as that day is depicted in James Joyce’s novel Ulysses. The day is named after Leopold Bloom, the central character in Ulysses. The novel follows the life and thoughts of Leopold Bloom and a host of other characters – real and fictional – from 8am on 16 June 1904 through to the early hours of the following morning.*
*jamesjoyce.ie
Typographic Portrait
Typographic Portraits
A series of typographic portraits of James Joyce between the years 1904 and 1937. The writer had four distinctive looks during this time period. Interestingly they are all eleven years apart. Here we see the writer at 22, 33, 44 and 55.
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