Illustrator Matt Rota was commissioned to create artwork for an editorial narrative piece in Harper’s Magazine. The piece titled “Night Soil: On love, shit, and parking” follows the musings of author Kristin Dombek as she follows her dream of adapting van life culture. The narrative piece itself blends larger questions with practical ones, and daydreams with reality. The clashing of various themes are what Matt Rota thrives in, able to pick a through line that helps transition the reader through the various narrative shifts in direction. With color palettes that evoke the mood of the author at each point in the story, Matt is able to create intricate artwork that zooms in and out of the perspective shifts that happen in the piece. What is striking is the true sojourner perspective in Matt’s images, creating a narrative in the art themselves, feeling utilitarian but also introspective. The author asks larger questions amidst the immediate ones, and Matt’s images encompass them all.
For more of Matt’s work, visit his Workbook portfolio.
Represented by IllustrationZone.
