Digipack.

sepia

b/w

blue tint – chosen option

For the cover, I had the idea of using tarot cards as an embodiment of the song’s content. The glass of wine, which appears in the photoshoot, already carries melancholic feel, so the cards extend that symbolism in a way. The Eight of Swords is my way of translating the “synthetic” feeling of emotional paralysis. It represents feeling trapped and restricted, often by your own thoughts and anxieties rather than literal obstacles, and suggests that while you feel bound and blinded, the real prison is mental and can be escaped with a shift in perspective. In my song, I make it clear that I do not handle change well.. “what happened to your heart” is not necessarily about a person but about the spirit of a city, a version of life I once had and can no longer return to. I’m bad at handling change as you can see. The card that really summed up the concept for me was the Ten of Wands. It represents carrying an overwhelming burden, taking on too much, and standing on the edge of burnout, but also to being close to the finish line if you can survive one last push. By now you probably know my story. The refugee layer, I feel everything all at once, I am exhausted etc. etc. etc. This project is my outlet, my art, and my relief.

Lastly, the dead rose. I stole it from my mom after her birthday last week. I asked her for the least alive flower she had, and she handed me this one. It started as a way to fill visual space, but for the sake of giving everything meaning – a beautiful thing past its prime, still insisting on being seen. And it just looks really good, doesn’t it?