The Traum(a)'s Kunstkammer (2025)

The Traum(a)’s Kunstkammer is a black-and-white surreal illustration zine that explores the many facets of trauma in 12 surreal objects. From nautilus with screaming mouths, plants that sprout eagles, to Newton’s cradle made of bombs, each embodies the various stages of trauma. Zero academic theories and research, 100% agony and dark humour, this is a Molotov cocktail of personal experiences, rudimentary physics knowledge, and Wikipedia searches, all distilled into tangible entities of pure pain, in the form of a cabinet of curiosities that is popular during Renaissance. 

The project is completed in 2025, but the seed was planted back in 2011 – the therapist asked me how I would describe and name my OCD. I said metronome, which symbolized the repetitive and mechanical nature of compulsions. Fast forward to 2024 / 2025, I found my drawings always gravitated to the dark and grotesque side – no matter how cheerful or peaceful I wanted the subject to be, it always turns out unsettling. A few drawings later I sensed the potential of developing the drawings into a series. Entering Kunstkammer, the 16th-century European chambers showcasing unusual natural and artificial objects. The drawings and the concept clicked instantly. Later the zine adopts a three-act framework that echoes trauma's life cycle – 1) the happening of trauma, 2) the aftermath and disorder, and 3) realization and healing. Presented as a museum pamphlet fused with dark humour, the stark contrast of clinical coldness and fiery anguish is set to make readers uncomfortable and immerse in the world where logic distorts, perception is challenged and only feelings make sense.