Stories of Scoliosis as LP covers
This project has been made in collaboration with scoliosis patients at Schroth Scoliosis Center (Kyiv, Ukraine) during Mariia's exchange semester at the University of Plymouth. The aim was to highlight the social issue of people being "othered" due to a medical condition, in this case - scoliosis and the need to wear a back brace. Mariia also explored a deep interest towards the design and production of vinyl record sleeves, so she chose to depict the stories of 3 scoliosis patients (herself included) as if they were concept-albums. The images on the three covers are made with woodcut printmaking, charcoal and oil paint, each technique chosen to portray the specific emotional quality of the given story.
The first one of the 3 album covers is based on Mariia's own story. She used her x-ray from 2017 as inspiration. It shows a 3rd stage scoliosis that took many years to correct. After going through several different therapies, some of which were more harm than good, she settled on wearing the Cheneau corset. In the process of recovery Mariia struggled with self esteem issues and anxieties. These unsettling emotions are conveyed in this LP cover design using the woodcut technique, contrasting colours and bold typography.
The back cover features marker and ink drawings depicting the Chenau corset and the painful marks it left on the body during the treatment. The song titles refer to the actual moments in Mariia's journey to recovery from scoliosis, for example - "cave paintings" being the way her doctor referred to the drawings she decorated her corset with.
The second album cover is about a girl, Arina, who was bullied into homeschooling because of having to wear a corset. “Problematic” is what her “friends” called her before abandoning her. The complicated emotions of estrangement and despair are conveyed in a black&white charcoal drawing, smudged with a wet brush in some places for a dramatic effect.
"A Slightly Different View", inspired by the story of Irina, is drastically different from the previous two. "She sent me a long audio message and I have never heard anybody speaking so positively about their battle with scoliosis." - Mariia. Irina was diagnosed at a very young age and tried countless therapies, but her natural optimism helped her get through. She took her condition as just another obstacle, a challenge to be overcome, without letting her scoliosis ruin her self esteem. So, my idea was to create a bright and tender oil painting, featuring flowers.
The cover design features a variety of flowers, each of them bearing a meaning in the Victorian flower language that aids the story. The bluish-purple clematis symbolizes mental beauty, while the chamomiles stand for strength in the hard times. Oak means strength and white
carnations mean female beauty, thus creating a composition that can be read as about self-respect and self love.
