The Downfall of Cyrus Haley
2023 Illustration Studio Practice University Project
The objective of the brief was to create an editorial portrait of a 'blacksheep' from one of the RNZ podcasts. Editorial portraiture is to capture the essence and narrative of the subject. In this instance, I am depicting Cyrus Haley, an arsonist in the 1870’s, who burnt down five buildings in Auckland. He was regarded as a ‘gentleman’ and well-respected in his day, but he was angry at a man called Thomas Russel, an upper-class gentleman, something Haley was not. Hence his hate grew like an inferno.
How I got here?
Cyrus Haley was a devil for sure, how to depict him I ran through many ideas. Cyrus Haley as a gentleman in Disguise. Cyrus Haley as a fire-breathing dragon, or maybe to depict him the best, was to set him alight where he becomes the entity he created.
