CITTÀ MAGAZINE
UNMAPPING MEXICO
CITTÀ MAGAZINE
UNMAPPING MEXICO
CITTÀ MAGAZINE
UNMAPPING MEXICO
CITTÀ MAGAZINE
UNMAPPING MEXICO
CITTÀ is an independent magazine that pairs Montréal with cities around the world and invites Montréal artists, writers, and photographers to explore and interpret those relationships on its pages.
CITTÀ is an independent magazine that pairs Montréal with cities around the world and invites Montréal artists, writers, and photographers to explore and interpret those relationships on its pages.
CITTÀ is an independent magazine that pairs Montréal with cities around the world and invites Montréal artists, writers, and photographers to explore and interpret those relationships on its pages.
CITTÀ is an independent magazine that pairs Montréal with cities around the world and invites Montréal artists, writers, and photographers to explore and interpret those relationships on its pages.
The Brief
The Brief
ADDRESSING HISTORICAL INJUSTICES
For the Montréal / Mexico City issue, my role was to create a small series of illustrations that could live as posters for the launch. The brief was simple to describe and huge in scope: interpret Mexico City at three different moments in time.
One poster would look back to the era of the Aztecs, another to the city reshaped by the Conquistadors, and a third to the modern metropolis that exists today. Together, they needed to read as a family and still stand on their own.
For the Montréal / Mexico City issue, my role was to create a small series of illustrations that could live as posters for the launch. The brief was simple to describe and huge in scope: interpret Mexico City at three different moments in time.
One poster would look back to the era of the Aztecs, another to the city reshaped by the Conquistadors, and a third to the modern metropolis that exists today. Together, they needed to read as a family and still stand on their own.
For the Montréal / Mexico City issue, my role was to create a small series of illustrations that could live as posters for the launch. The brief was simple to describe and huge in scope: interpret Mexico City at three different moments in time.
One poster would look back to the era of the Aztecs, another to the city reshaped by the Conquistadors, and a third to the modern metropolis that exists today. Together, they needed to read as a family and still stand on their own.
THE Process
THE Process
The work started with research. I dug into early maps and visual references of Tenochtitlán, traced how the city was redrawn under colonial rule, and studied the dense, sprawling form of present-day Mexico City. From there, each illustration became a kind of time-travel map. The first leans into water, causeways, and symbols of the pre-Hispanic city. The second tightens into imposed grids and new orders. The third stretches outward, echoing the scale and rhythm of a city that never really stops growing.
The work started with research. I dug into early maps and visual references of Tenochtitlán, traced how the city was redrawn under colonial rule, and studied the dense, sprawling form of present-day Mexico City. From there, each illustration became a kind of time-travel map. The first leans into water, causeways, and symbols of the pre-Hispanic city. The second tightens into imposed grids and new orders. The third stretches outward, echoing the scale and rhythm of a city that never really stops growing.
A shared visual language holds the three together. Composition, line work, and colour choices echo across the series so that when the posters hang side by side, they read like chapters of the same story rather than three unrelated images.
A shared visual language holds the three together. Composition, line work, and colour choices echo across the series so that when the posters hang side by side, they read like chapters of the same story rather than three unrelated images.
PUSHING FOR LEGISLATIVE REFORM
On the legislative front, the campaign vigorously pursued the alignment of Canadian laws with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). After overcoming resistance, the effort bore fruit with the introduction of Bill C-15 in 2020, marking a significant stride towards embedding these principles into Canadian law. During the Mi’kmaq Fishery dispute, the Canadian Labour Congress stood firm against injustice, advocating for the protection of treaty rights amidst challenging circumstances.
GRATITUDE
This project was pure joy. Working with Léa Jeanmougin on CITTÀ’s Montréal / Mexico City issue was one of those collaborations that reminds you why you say yes to independent projects in the first place.
The trust and the freedom made the work feel playful and serious at the same time. Years later, these three maps of Mexico are still a favorite project of mine.
On the legislative front, the campaign vigorously pursued the alignment of Canadian laws with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). After overcoming resistance, the effort bore fruit with the introduction of Bill C-15 in 2020, marking a significant stride towards embedding these principles into Canadian law. During the Mi’kmaq Fishery dispute, the Canadian Labour Congress stood firm against injustice, advocating for the protection of treaty rights amidst challenging circumstances.
Pushing for legislative reform
A shared visual language holds the three together. Composition, line work, and colour choices echo across the series so that when the posters hang side by side, they read like chapters of the same story rather than three unrelated images.
GRATITUDE
GRATITUDE
This project was pure joy. Working with Léa Jeanmougin on CITTÀ’s Montréal / Mexico City issue was one of those collaborations that reminds you why you say yes to independent projects in the first place.
The trust and the freedom made the work feel playful and serious at the same time. Years later, these three maps of Mexico are still a favorite project of mine.
This project was pure joy. Working with Léa Jeanmougin on CITTÀ’s Montréal / Mexico City issue was one of those collaborations that reminds you why you say yes to independent projects in the first place.
The trust and the freedom made the work feel playful and serious at the same time. Years later, these three maps of Mexico are still a favorite project of mine.
A shared visual language holds the three together. Composition, line work, and colour choices echo across the series so that when the posters hang side by side, they read like chapters of the same story rather than three unrelated images.
This project was pure joy. Working with Léa Jeanmougin on CITTÀ’s Montréal / Mexico City issue was one of those collaborations that reminds you why you say yes to independent projects in the first place.
The trust and the freedom made the work feel playful and serious at the same time. Years later, these three maps of Mexico are still a favorite project of mine.
GRATITUDE
The Indigenous Rights and Justice campaign, championed by Canada’s unions alongside Indigenous and feminist allies, took a bold stand to mend historical wrongs. This powerful alliance pushed for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, bringing much-needed attention and accountability to this critical issue.
Addressing historical injustices
Interested in working together?
Interested in working together?
Interested in working together?
Interested in working together?