work riso
A Soul Under Construction
2014https://asoulunderconstruction.com/

A Soul Under Construction is a publication dear to my heart. It is a combination of diary entry, aspiration, and dark reflection into the various stages of addiction that lead to the death of the young writer, Kendall Daigle.

All photos by Leah Meltzer

Writer: Kendall Michelle Daigle [RIP]

Editors: Benjamin Morris
Cover Art: Sage Rose
ISBN: 978-0-9849584-2-9

180 Pages
5.25 x 7.5 in.
3-color Risograph 1st edition of 750
Handsewn by Yuka Petz
French fold cover

Book-printing produced in-house.
Full color plates by the Prolific Group, Canada

A Soul Under Construction is a publication dear to my heart. It is a combination of diary entry, aspiration, and dark reflection into the various stages of addiction that lead to the death of the young writer, Kendall Daigle.

Working closely with Kendall’s friends and mother on a posthumous collection of writings, we had the challenge of finding the middle ground of creating something that celebrates Kendall to her family and community, yet capture the essence of her subversive style that she might approve of being represented as, through the design.

Introducing a writing editor to the project was incredibly helpful in parsing the poetry and prose with a keen eye on how they could be represented in separate sections of the publication. The idea was to demonstrate an arc of her state of being through her writings, from highs to lows. Using colored paper, ranging from white to beige to tan to grey and reversed back through this spectrum, the writings existed within these sections as her states of thought, rather than chronologically as originally authored. The ‘chapters’ also included dreamlike abstracted smoke / clouds at each section break to offset these varying states of mind and was meant to include the reader on a journey, seamlessly into her descent and ascension.

Video by Leah Meltzer
Song— Only For a While by Markus Mehr

These mini-pages of text chats gave a sense of insight into her daily life
The pink stitched binding, mirrored Kendall’s hair color
Loose 1:1 sheet of Kendall’s writing, functioning as a tangible piece of her life.

Loose 1:1 sheet, reproduced of Kendall’s writing, front and back