Emily Sheard Nevermore

Edgar Allan Poe’s poem ‘The raven’ inspired me with its idea of representing a bird as a spiritual messenger. In the poem, the raven becomes the focal point for a grieving person’s greatest dreams and deepest fears. By concentrating on separate details the narrator avoids dealing with the full impact of his overwhelming loss. I used old paper to suggest Poe’s era as well as a mind worn down with time and grief, while the hard clarity of the pen drawings highlights how imagined fears can become more real and important than reality.

Influencing artist: Edgar Allan Poe