Sera van de Water - Portfolio

WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?

Editorial, Posters, Website
(RISO/Inkjet, Silkscreen, HTML/CSS/JS)

[2024]
When researching critical graphic design and whether or not it may offer solutions to—or rather ways to deal with—the discipline’s forced alliance with global capitalism and consumerism, the feeling that arises is best described as a bitterness. The chokehold that capitalism has on graphic design feels for many to be inescapable and disillusioning, hopelessness often prevailing over optimism. By implementing an open and unknowing approach, this project is an attempt at bringing back a certain optimism by focusing on collectivity.

MOON & POLITICS: NAVIGATING A STRATEGIC LANDSCAPE OF MEDIA MYTHS

Editorial, Video Installation
(Inkjet, 2 CRT Screens, Camcorder)

[2024]
When looking at the years leading up to the first Moon landing from a political point of view, it is clear that this seemingly scientific endeavor was actually a political-strategic one. In the context of the Cold War the Moon landing goal became entangled in a later so-called Space Race as a way to beat the Soviets. This political motive isn’t apparent in the way that the road towards the Moon landing was portrayed, however. Public affairs offices worked to cultivate a bold, brave, frontier style narrative to popularize space flights, never missing a chance to exploit public enthusiasm. This installation questions the manipulative force of such meticulously formed public imagery. Media often paints a distorted picture of reality, which is then interpreted as an actual representation of it. That discrepancy is symbolized here by placing a camera in between two screens, one oriented East, one West. It makes you wonder about the subjective point of view that media innately contains. Do we really know why the Moon landing happened when it did?

YOU DON'T HATE DESIGN,
YOU HATE CAPITALISM

Multimedia Collages, Publication
(RISO, Embossed)

[2024]
The process of making collages served as an outlet for the inescapable feeling of stress (anxiety? existential dread? who knows) that came with researching a topic as heavy as design vs/+ capitalism (and also graduating). Although a more abstract and less literal translation, they still represent that same struggle; just in a more personal and emotional (not-so-much theoretical) way.