Toxic Yash

I’m both a bit surprised and unsurprised that it’s been two years since last I posted anything on Hafuboti. I knew that I needed a break, but I had no idea that it would last as long as it has. I’m not even sure that I’ll ever return to posting as regularly as I once did. But, it’s also been around two years since I’ve wanted to, or felt the need to, create something. It wasn’t until I watched Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance that I felt a spark of inspiration. It is such a tour de force that shows so much love for film all the while revealing deep feminine turmoil. During a Q&A with Fargeat, Guillermo del Toro describes both of her films as personal expulsions. That word choice was a powerful one to me. That’s a verb I’d never connected to my creativity before, but once I began considering it, that has tended to be the driving force behind much of what I create. Creativity can help me both process and expel things from my inner self. So, to honor that revelation, I took one of the most formative books of my childhood and paired it with one of my now all-time favorite films that may be formative to my later life. Someday, I may delve into what my life journey has looked like over the past few years, but for now, I’d like to let this image be my statement to the universe.