Weapons throughout history, very thin line drawings (1987)

In 1987, shortly after arriving in Sweden, an acquaintance asked if I could contribute illustrations to a special issue on militarism published by the Center for Latin American Studies (CELA). The journal was distributed free of charge to libraries and other interested institutions.

I used a set of Staedtler Mars Matic 700 technical markers that my sister had given me in Chile. With these tools, which I had already used for several years, I began to draw, each line a thought. In the end, I completed around 50 hand-drawn illustrations, some of which are shown here.

In retrospect, it was an unexpected commission during a time of transition in my life. But those markers, that box, and even the colored inks I still have remind me of where I come from and how drawing helped me build a language when words weren't enough.