Date of Award
Spring 5-31-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Illustration
First Advisor
Susan Doyle
Second Advisor
Jamie Uretsky
Third Advisor
Michael Demps
Abstract
Set in a speculative world submerged by water, this thesis constructs a fragmented, nonlinear narrative that reflects on survival, memory, and displacement in the aftermath of catastrophe. Through three interwoven chapters—The Outcast, The Researcher, and The World—the project explores the emotional and psychological landscapes of individuals navigating a post-apocalyptic existence where the past is irretrievable and the future uncertain. Using an interdisciplinary form of visual storytelling, writing, and sound, the work draws from personal experience and collective trauma to examine how people reconstruct identity and meaning after loss. Rather than offering a definitive answer to existential questions, the narrative invites viewers to dwell in ambiguity, imagining how stories—personal and fictional—can hold space for grief, nostalgia, and resistance.
Recommended Citation
Du, Esther, "How To Walk On Water: Living Through The Absurd" (2025). Masters Theses. 1456.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/1456
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