Zine - The Plays of the Stage Girl, 2019

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Sometimes, sitting in front of the mirror, I could see my face clearer. 
Sometimes, lying on the floor, I could feel my body melting to connect with the world. 
This zine is an exploration of the personal journey of the stage girl. This character is a performer who used to perform in different shops, twisted houses, restaurants, and stores. Dressing in a colorful sweater and a silky skirt, the stage girl enjoys dancing, wandering the city, visiting exhibitions as well as breaking rules. The zine is also giving an insight into the stage girl’s introvert and extrovert sides. Looking into the transition of vibrant illustration into darker, surrealistic pages, they represent a character’s day shifting from public time (daytime) to private time (night time). A shift to a night spent with herself, the stage girl expresses the emotion of being depressed and alone, contrasting to her energetic appearance presented at the beginning of her journey. 

Most of the scenes containing objects, wall designs, and texture are constructed based on actual stage designs showing plays inside a theater and stage props. Some of the space where the character is standing is constantly giving a sense of a person being placed in a box or a personal room, which tends to show the internal world of the stage girl. Reading towards the end of the zine, there is a plain, dark space featuring a vanity and a chair, metaphorically informing the audience about an actor or actress’s time for self-reflection. To me, the act of sitting down and looking into the mirror to see my own reflection is a kind of ritual in contemplation of myself as an individual. In the end, the interactive cake, looking decorative on the outside, is actually empty inside after one of the pieces is removed. This cake is a symbol of emptiness experienced in the stage girl. Through a mixture of space, text, and illustration, the truth of whether these pages are just simply showing the reality of the stage girl’s life or are the pages a series of performances in a play is obscure. 
Notes:
*salted popcorn on page 7 movie scene