We began our 4th and final year of Communication Design by partaking in a traditional Illustration project: The Film Poster project. I was given the film “ERASERHEAD” (1977) by David Lynch. I believe this film was chosen for me because of my growing interest in David Lynch’s work, which began after his passing and after watching Twin Peaks for the first time. During the summer holidays between my 3rd and 4th years, upon my request, Marc arranged a screening of ERASERHEAD in the Reid Lecture Theatre. I wanted my first viewing of ERASERHEAD to align with the way David Lynch wanted his films to be watched: in a theatre.

I wanted to avoid overused iconic imagery, such as Henry’s face in the billowing dust. Instead, I focused on a line from the family dinner scene where Mary X notes they “still aren’t sure if it is a baby“. This led me to consider Mary’s unseen perspective and the broader horror of the bodily female experience. To visually communicate this unsettling reality, I hand-painted a menstrual pad with watercolor and scanned strawberry jam on acetate, creating raw, visceral textures of blood and clots to mirror the film’s uncanny atmosphere.