Postcards from Water for Elephants

Project C Synopsis

My investment in the novel Water for Elephants stemmed from the atmosphere, mood and spirit of the characters. The novel takes place in the 1930’s, a time which was both glamorous and depressing. By today’s standards, it was also quite an offensive time. It was standard to call people freaks and the circus put “freaks” on a pedestal for all to stare at. The circus in Water for Elephants hyperbolizes the contradictions of the circus. Because of this, I became interested in the darkness of the circus and the engrossing characters in it.

From there, I decided to portray the light heartedness of the “freak” characters with some dark aspects. As well it was exciting to feel free to investigate a time where things weren’t politically correct. While it was tons of fun looking at all the possibilities with circus freaks, my list including: the four-legged lady, elephant hands, lion-faced boy, rubber man. I decided on the bearded lady, the two-headed woman, the albino, and the super strength woman. To round out the series I did what could be an ad poster for the event.

I formatted my project into postcards. Postcards make sense with the context of the book as the main character suddenly joins the circus and this is his means of communication with his past. I like the idea of postcards with characters on them because they could also function as trading cards or memorabilia. I used collage with hand paintings to mix realism with whimsy. I am continuing this project to include many more characters and scenes. These postcards are in an edition of 25 each.