SOJOURN
In SOJOURN (2018-current) I explore the aesthetics, concepts, and memories that fascinate me. Through illustration, design & writing, I’ve been telling a story set in this world…
A new earthstar is forming on the outskirts of the deserted Soolanda National Park. The return of earthstars has thawed nutrient-rich rivers, nourishing fertile plains that been frozen for decades. Marshes, moorlands, and meadows of boreal flowers proliferate throughout the highlands. Flocks of birds, and herds of elk, horse, and sheep now flourish under the glow of the youthful Sool Constellation.
The narrative I’ve been writing takes place in the reclaimed ruins of Soolanda National Park, and follows a traveler who returns to find something she left in her childhood home, and encounters the strangeness of the earthstars.
SOJOURN is the product of: sci-fi and thriller films, nature documentaries, old NatGeo magazines, Icelandic landscapes, World of Warcraft, Japanese woodblock prints, travel & tourism ephemera..
The earthstar is unique to the Aster Ridge, of which Sojourn is the largest island. The decades-to-centuries long lifecycle of earthstars lead to long summers and winters, shaping countless aspects of the island-nation’s ecology and society.
From Icelandic landscapes I began to find the visual language, texture, and atmosphere of Sojourn; an interest in astronomy and theology helped as well.
The final stages of an earthstar’s life are not unlike that of an extraterrestrial star. It may dissipate or it may explode; in the most unlikely but spectacular case, the dying star collapses upon itself and becomes part of The Great Sojourn, an unknowable desert expanse of folded and interlocked space, for which the island nation is named.
The Myr River Trout has been a symbol of Soolanda’s solar cycles since pre-contact. They spawn in the many estuaries of the Myrvatna, and return up-stream in small schools; but now in countless hordes as their habitat thaws under the Sool Constelation. Local tradition holds that an unusually abundant catch portends great change.
Scientists from the National University spent weeks observing, measuring, and chasing that which is perhaps better off left to the imaginations of monks and medicine men. They evidently left their vehicles in a hurry, but to where?
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“In the fecundity of these hills, an ecstatic vision fills me. It flickers for half-a-moment behind each blade of grass, and wicks away in the shimmering dew.
It’s always dancing at the edge of my sight, breathing right behind my ears. Maybe just over this hill...No - the next one, and one after that!
The unbearable strain in my heart exists to give birth to that ripe fruit, when the incomprehensible bears itself nude - beyond all beauty and obscenity I can describe.”
In the long summer of the early 1900s, the Orokasala was a once a grand hotel at the heart of Soolanda National Park. By mid-century, it was a home for the all the elderly who remained in the long winter. Now it sits empty; from a distance almost appearing like a trick of the highland light. It’s most famous resident was the Mother of Myjiri, a woman who claimed to have been born of an earthstar.
Ancient earthstars have burned their fingerprints across Sojourn’s landscape and in its geology. The petrified remains of a Kite Whale sow and her calves see the light of day after thousands of years; their basalt tomb vaporized in a violent combustion of a dying earthstar. But is it possible they have come from somewhere else?
My Sojourn maps and locations are often informed by places I’ve been to, or have fond memories of. I want them to elicit feelings of wonder, familiarity; and for myself - nostalgia. I drew inspiration from National Geographic and NPS maps.
Covering 323,717 mi², Sojourn is roughly equal in size to the state of New Mexico in the U.S.A. Nearly 300,000 people have found a faraway home in its beautiful, though often inhospitable islands. Sojourners’ extreme distance from the Old World, requiring weeks-long travel Across-the-Ice, have made them a hardy and self-reliant, often peculiar people.
The foothills of Lambstar have recently gained several sprawling solar farms, each independently owned and competing for a sliver of Lambstar’s output. With the unpredictable behavior and lifespans of Earthstars, solar farming from them is often a risky endeavor, yet central to the re-development of Soolanda National Park.
A Xina mural covers the concrete wall of a warehouse in Asper, reflecting the local fascination with the beings’ purported ability to navigate the Great Sojourn, and their peculiar connection to the Earthstar lifecycle. While they are a rare sight in Soolanda and most regions, the Xina are ever-present in folklore and popular culture of Sojourn.
Sojourners have lived apart from the enigmatic Tsina humanoids since settlement. They are occasionally seen scavenging on the outskirts of town, or in brief encounters deep in the wilderness. Shy but curious, they have been known to befriend individuals that they have observed for a while.
Geodesic huts dot the central plains of the Myr basin. These robust, rusted exo-habitats remain reliable shelter for hikers despite being over a century old, and are a leftover artifact from Soolanda’s days as a astronaut training ground during the Space Age.
Take some time to recharge and reflect in one of the highlands’ many fields of lupines. Are you satisfied with your journey so far? If so, remember to follow my work at @earthstarandy on Instagram, and join my mailing list.
As one ventures closer to an earthstar, and especially within its cradle, it is easy to be lulled into a false sense of security by the silence and stillness of an often-pleasant environment. The weather can turn extreme in minutes, and the vulnerable mind is easily lead astray by strange phenomena in the otherworldly light. Always bring a friend and an exit plan.
What’s next for Sojourn?
Most of my work on Sojourn is on hold as I focus on traditional painting. The boom of AI-generated projects have made me rethink how much time I can spend on Sojourn, and how I can find an audience to appreciate it in a sea of rapidly generated content.
In the bigger picture, I hope Sojourn can be a life-long project.