Amidst Silence
Kelsey Smith's Dreamlike Worlds
While my classmates wanted to become astronauts, firefighters, or veterinarians, I had chosen a completely different dream job for myself: illustrator! For days, I would lock myself in my room and doodle on my own versions of Sailor Moon, Wedding Peach and The Vision of Escaflowne. I really wanted to publish my own manga and become famous all over the world. Unfortunately, exams, girls and real life got in the way and my dream of becoming a mangaka was shattered.
Kelsey Smith from Georgia in the USA seems to feel similar to me, except that she didn't just give up on her dream, but pursued it straightaway. She's currently studying at the Savannah College of Art and Design, drawing modern art influenced by manga and anime, but only in detail reminiscent of the googly-eyed superheroines. A little Sailor Moon here, a little Cowboy Bebop there, but they seem to be only distant memories in a reality Kelsey would like to make her own. Yet she is aware of the world in which she exists.
Kelsey's works often depict young, lonely girls sitting alone in their rooms, thinking, living, and existing. A few cuddly cats and cute boys decorate her usually dark but never scary world. Bunny Tsukino often stares from the moonlit poster on the wall, in the arcade, from the photo. Kelsey loves the night, the moon, and the quiet. I imagine her sketching away night after night, a bit of J-pop droning in the background, always chasing the sketch artist's dream. Kelsey doesn't let anything get in her way, unlike me. Maybe I should spend the night drawing again, too. Just for the sake of my great childhood dream...
Monday, January 30, 2023
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