We are extremely proud to present the Third Annual MFA Visual Narrative Thesis Exhibition, “And Then. . .” These driven, hardworking students have devised exciting and wildly diverse bodies of words and pictures while maintaining a focus on narrative. The work you will see arose from the closely- held parts of our students’ own lives — using the connective tissues of their own histories, preoccupations, experiences and found stories. This process required a great deal of personal bravery and tenacity to find the voice and means necessary to achieve their own unique visions.

In Landfall, Maya DeLewis is a stoic and stubborn paramedic who has built an emotional wall around herself following the loss of a beloved friend and mentor. One night, Maya crosses paths with a young, reluctant gang member named Tareen who both robs Maya’s ambulance of drugs and inadvertently taps into Maya’s little-known past with Hoodoo, an old folk-magic practice with which Tareen also has a history. When a hurricane strikes the island, Maya has a chance to help Tareen escape her tormented life in the gang, but she must decide if it’s worth the risk of retaliation from Tareen’s sadistic gang boss, Raven. As the stakes of Tareen’s situation escalate, Maya’s undeniable bond with Tareen begins to chip away at her stony exterior — but will Maya come far enough out of her emotional fortress to save Tareen from Raven’s wrath?

Landfall is a multimedia graphic novel rooted in the author’s own personal experiences as a paramedic and later, a resident of Galveston, Texas. It is also derived from her experience as an adult convert to Judaism, and the seemingly incompatible emotional intersections she stumbled upon between the EMS world and her own spiritual world. This uniquely, digital narrative experience weaves together illustration, photography, and video to tell the story of Maya’s journey, not only through a menacing storm and an unexpected relationship, but also through the complex and neglected world within herself.

Landfall is Christina Mattison Ebert’s first foray into film and video. She created this work as a multimedia piece because she felt that the most authentic way to represent her creative voice was to merge her background with illustration/design and her fascination with film direction as an artform.

PROJECT WEBSITE: www.landfall-story.com

FACEBOOK: CMattisonIllustration

TUMBLR: christinamebert.tumblr.com