Prompted by recent immigration crackdowns in the United States, I found myself asking: isn’t migration part of human nature? This project is an illustrated account of my search for an answer.
Through scientific research and conversations with anthropologist and evolutionary biologist Julia Zichello, I traced Homo sapiens’ emergence around 300,000 years ago to the pivotal moment ~50,000 years ago, when a small population left Africa and became ancestral to most people living outside the continent today.
The project brings together evidence from fossils and genetics with my own immigration experience of moving to the U.S. By connecting personal memory to deep human history, it aims to make distant scientific narratives more tangible and human.
From our species’ origins in Africa to our spread across the globe, this work asks how movement, adaptation, and belonging have always shaped who we are. At its core, this project is an attempt to understand how we became a species capable of living everywhere, and how that history continues to shape who we are today.
Published spot illustrations for the 250th Anniversary of America Special Issue (May, 2026) of The New Yorker.
Client:
The New Yorker
Art Director:
Supriya Kalidas
Animator:
Nicolo Bianchino
Link to Project
Select images from book, Peter The Pigeon
Role:
Illustrator, Writer, Book Designer
Tools:
Traditional, Digital
Client:
School Project for School of Visual Arts MFA
Duration:
8 Months
A printed zine including a series of images created for Vladimir Nabokov’s The Visit to the Museum. I used optical illusions to illustrate the story’s descent into surrealism.
Role:
Illustrator, Book Designer
Tools:
Traditional, Digital
Client:
School Project for School of Visual Arts MFA
Duration:
6 Months
Recognition:
American Illustration 45 CHOSEN Winner
Published spot illustrations for the Fall Style & Design Issue (September 23, 2024) of The New Yorker.
Client:
The New Yorker
Art Director:
Supriya Kalidas
Role:
Illustrator
Medium:
Digital
Recognition:
Society of Illustrators 67 Exhibit and Book Jury Selection
Illustrations for The New Yorker Festival 2025 master classes
Client:
The New Yorker
Art Director:
Supriya Kalidas
Role:
Illustrator
Medium:
Digital
Documenting the sketchiest moves from the second Trump administration on a weekly basis.
Published spot illustrations for the April 28, 2025 issue of The New Yorker.
Client:
The New Yorker
Art Director:
Rina Kushnir
Role:
Illustrator
Medium:
Digital
A continuous ride through San Francisco.
Screenprinted poster created for Artcrank SFO 2014 / 18" x 18" / metallic gold ink on 110# matte black paper stock.
Medium:
Screenprint
Role:
Designer & Illustrator
Drawings at various cafes across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.
This project was completed while pursuing an MFA at the School of Visual Arts.
Role:
Illustrator
Medium:
Fountain Pen, Brush Pens
Editorial illustrations created for the Meta Newsroom blog while employed at Meta.
Date:
2014 – 2020
A fun personal project to commemorate the loss of one of my favorite surfboards
Role:
Illustrator, printer
Medium:
digital
Purchase Pin Here
