In 2019, Chicago-based band Bonelang asked me to create the visual identity for their album Sunny, Sonny. Presented with the music and the mission statement below, I developed the art direction, then shot and designed all of the images and items shown here.

This world will make you feel like a failure
Because you're not one in a billion
That you'll work your whole life
Only to be almost brilliant
But all the wear and tear
Will make your skin resilient
And in the end you'll be made of
Scarred flesh and fufillment

This project felt like an exploration of emotional weight. I pulled references from old war worn army portraits and paired them with the forms and postures of ballet. The music reveals a deep confrontation of self, and I thought that combination of agony and grace would create an interesting tension to match.

Additionally, we discussed visual themes from the environments and tasks of fisherman, as a metaphor for life's temptations and the discipline needed to live a balanced life. I found a cottage location on a small lake in rural Indiana, and brought on stylist Yuki Sato to develop the wardrobe and help with production design.

I shot all of these photographs on 35mm film, throughout a day and a half spent on location with the band, and colored them with Photoshop. The album covers were created through a multimedia process that included printing, photocopying, and scanning my designs on different types of paper.

The golden bars represent sunlight peeking through drawn blinds, stylistically inspired by the band's interested in Rothko at the time.