Exam project - Redesign of Abyss by Chelsea Wolfe and the visualization of sleep paralysis
Chelsea Wolfe's latest album's theme is mostly about sleep paralysis. It is a phenomenon during which an individual is unable to move during falling asleep or awakening, but is aware of their surroundings. It is often accompanied by frightening hallucinations to which one is unable to react because of paralysis and perceived physical experiences, such as a strong current running through the upper body. I have experienced this many times recently too, so I felt a stronger connection to this record. ->
Concept: (I want to state at this point, that the original cover is beautiful and works well in my opinion) My problem is that almost every picture with the theme of sleep paralysis depicts a person suffering in the middle of a big dark place, usually getting attacked by a demon-like creature. That can happen, but most of the time the hallucinations and the whole situation are much more complicated. I started experimenting with typography (using the lyrics of the songs), photography, and other media to illustrate my (and my friends', who experienced these things too) associations and observations about the phenomenon and Wolfe's music. After this I made spreads and put them together into the form of a booklet. ->
The booklet is in a case next to the vinyl. The case is matte black and has typographic elements on it printed with shiny black. Together they give back the feeling of a dark room/falling asleep. The booklet and the vinyl/music represent sleep paralysis.
All of the music's and the lyrics' rights goes to Chelsea Wolfe and the label Sargent House.
