ISTD 2023: The Spaces Between
The Spaces Between is a response to the 2022-2023 ISTD brief of the same name. The concept of the afterlife emerged after I watched the Martin McDonagh classic film In Bruges during the early stages of the project. In the movie, Colin Farrell’s character has been sent to Bruges to await his fate after committing an unspeakable crime, for which he is racked with guilt. McDonagh has said that the film is an allegory for the Catholic concept of purgatory.
Purgatory can be thought of as a place, but also a process of purification that the soul must endure before entering heaven. Upon researching this topic further, I realised that there is an equivalent intermediate and temporary space across numerous religious faiths; Judaism has Sheol, in Islam it is the barzakh, Buddhism has the bardo, and in Hinduism it is Naraka.
The publication’s design is inspired by the unique languages and beauty contained within each individual religion’s sacred manuscripts, such as the Bible, the Torah, the Qur’an, the Vedas, and the Tripitaka. It is divided into seven sections, which is reminiscent of the seven deadly sins.
A translucent insert page divides each religion, which represents a veil between the worlds of the living and the dead. The design has unifying threads linking each religion, which was achieved through my choice of paper, colour scheme, and consistent typography for the body copy, quotations, and subheadings. The regal elegance of the Georgia serif typeface is contrasted with the sans-serif Neue Montreal in order to convey a modern perspective of ancient belief systems.
The book seeks to convey the message that far more unites religious communities than divides them. In today’s world of conflict and violence, it feels necessary to remind people that the great mystery of the afterlife is a universal phenomenon.
