Exhibit Work
It’s 1983 in Mexico City and Zobeida is a law student in her 3rd year of college trying to balance her academic and social life. She’s accompanied by her best friend, a hectic academic schedule, and the outrageous idea of maybe, just maybe...becoming a singer? “Wait, who even has time for that?? We have to turn in a paper at midni- oh my God the air conditioner broke down again I’m so fu-”
Zobeida is a combination of the love I have for my Arab-Mexican culture and my family. I have always had a fascination for the past and I love to hear stories from all my family members of when they were young. I love to learn about music they listened to, what they used to do, and just learn about who they were. I suppose I’ve always been attached to experiencing a sense of Nostalgia that was never mine. Weird right?
Today, a lot of shows mainly focus on showing the high school experience or the adventures of having a family. What about all of us college students who are in their 20’s? What about our sleepless nights with friends, that one really funny hangover you had at your friends’ house, or that one day you spoke back to a professor and contemplated your death the rest of the day? All while trying to balance our life outside of academics. And especially, what about the great existential crisis of “oh my God what am I going to do with my life?”
Aside from the “impending doom before us”, another struggle of your 20’s is not knowing where you belong. We always tend to try out new things, which is why every single piece of Zobeida is done in a slightly different style than the last. Zobeida symbolizes how we are desperately looking for our identity every day. By not focusing on just one style, I looked to challenge myself on different types of illustration and design I had never tried before. Something that is also not tried often, is having an Arab-Mexican as a show protagonist.
Usually, a main character is portrayed with fair light skin, a small button nose, and thin silky hair as the epitome of beauty. Why is it ugly to embrace the color of my ancestors, the elegant regal nose they gave me, and the tightest of curls? Zobeida is an embodiment of “unconventional” beauty standards, a challenge to her era and of course, today.
I created Zobeida as an outlet to let out the struggles of being in my 20’s (that technically aren’t “struggles” because we’re so young, we shouldn’t have to worry! Right? RIGHT?!), and the complex of trying to survive your when you’re trying to become “someone”. Zob is a form of assurance for me. Because if she can get through it, I can too.
This is her story
