The Crystal Astronaut | Concept Artwork & Plot Summary

Concept Character Lineup

Artist Statement:

For this project, I proposed exploring what it would be like to tell an illustrative story for children on the immigrant experience in a diaspora. It was to be done in a decolonized manner and embrace teaching children how to form an identity within a diaspora through the portal-quest fantasy genre.

This proposal evolved into the sci-fi portal-quest fantasy story summarized below. Its focus is still on teaching children how to form identity when displaced but more specifically within the Palestinian diaspora.

Concept Art of the Liminal Space

Plot Summary:

In Palestine 2080, Samar Jida gathers her grandchildren to tell them of the adventures of the Crystal Astronaut.

When Samar was a little girl, they had to leave their home suddenly due to a breakout of war. To do so her mother wrapped her in a keffiyeh scarf creating a portal jump to another planet. Samar surmises that they encountered different inhabitants in each world. One planet was filled with a hyper-technologically advanced society. One planet was filled with plant people. Another planet was filled with rock creatures on a planet covered in water. On each planet, Samar and her family went about trying to make a new life in each new world. Though none of it truly felt like home.

Despite the challenges of communication and understanding, Samar was able to learn to connect with the different civilizations they encountered. As a child, she saw each world as an opportunity to understand the new culture. She would also utilize the keffiyeh as a point to connect and explain her home. By sharing her stories with those who would listen she made new friends and a new home in each space.

There were times when Samar felt homesick, still, but discovered whenever light shined through her keffiyeh it would point to the sky. After many years she discovers it is pointing back to home and believes to fulfill the loss she felt she must return to Palestine someday.

As Samar grew older, she planned her return home. She charted the stars and eventually returned to Palestine. When she returned, however, she didn’t feel quite at home due to the amount of time she spent away. She stayed in Palestine and learned once again to make it her home. However, she always found herself envisioning the other worlds she longed to tell stories. This is why she continued to tell stories of the Crystal Astronaut as she found that her home was among the stars.

Concept Art of the Third Planet

Special thanks to Sabahat Ahmad & Rameesah Khan for the research and consultation.