Degree Show 2024
Tia Hewitt-Brown
BA Art and Design
Character design and illustrating the worlds that my characters inhabit is the core of my practice. A major reason as to why worldbuilding is an important aspect of my work is because it can tackle real-world socio-economic problems, like racism and misogyny; almost every character I design presents as a woman of colour, like me, and they inhabit a world that allows them to thrive in ways we normally couldn’t.
This set of work presents audiences with an alternate version of Headingley, where urban design has been taken to the extreme; the old Victorian buildings have been stacked onto each other to form large-scale social housing, which could benefit working class people and provide space for more plant life. The project was heavily inspired by creatives like the RESOLVE Collective and Superstudio, whose primary focus is to use urban design to improve the lives of marginalised young people. This world also takes visual inspiration from the video game Little Nightmares, since the story line also revolves around young people adapting to the harsh environment that they live in.
