18/10/2025

Passing - Nella Larsen
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In Passing (1929), you follow Irene and Clare, two mixed-race women who reconnect after years apart. Clare “passes” as a white woman and lives a life full of secrets, while Irene takes pride in her Black identity yet struggles with her own inner conflicts. Their reunion stirs up tension, jealousy, and desire. The scene introducing Clare’s husband made my jaw drop — if you know, you know.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be reading and illustrating books connected to the Jacob Lawrence exhibition at Kunsthal KAdE. As a volunteer there, I enjoy immersing myself in the literature surrounding this exhibition, which centers on Lawrence’s work highlighting the lives of African-American people. I plan to read books that inspired Lawrence, as well as contemporary and historical stories that feel thematically fitting.

From a design perspective, I wanted to include an interactive element. Playful features like textiles and pop-ups are often reserved for children’s books, but they can be just as engaging for adults! With this book cover, the two women can shift between white and Black social environments by pulling the strip of paper.

✷ Genre: classic literature, novella
✷ Themes: jealousy, secrets, the position of Black and mixed-race people in interwar America
✷ Recommended? Yes, if you can handle an open ending ;-)