Diana MartínNadir was born with a very clear purpose. His parents expect a lot from him, and so does the city. He is not interested, at thirteen, life has become complicated.
Nadir gets to know another six kids like him, all with curly hair and black robes. Maybe they couldn’t think of black possibilities anymore. And with the lights shimmering over their heads, they guide to safety the ships that threaten to crash against the shores of The Wrong Side of Town. Ink on paper.
Nadir can see from afar six flickering lights. He heads towards them among the soft dunes, his black tunic flapping in the wind. She turns his head once more and sees that Cenit has come to say goodbye. The girl lifts her small hand and bids her brother farewell. Ink on paper.
Nadir runs into Errut Trastabire, the new destiny shuffler on the entrance to the Sea. This fire thumbed woman stamps new lines on his hands. Now he has chosen a different road, like she did in her time . Ink and watercolor on paper.
Nadir decides to go to the sea. His father is furious. Nadir doesn’t know where his courage comes from, but he is no longer capable of thinking about the black posibilites of the city. He goes out to the street and there is the Old Man. It doesn’t seem that the City will be affected by a young man looking for the Great Sea. Ink on paper.
Nadir’s family begins to suspect that something is not quite alright. The boy carries a strange light above his head. Cenit doesn’t feel good knowing she is being let win and points at it. The parents, angry at first, worried afterwards, ask themselves what they did wrong. Graphite on paper.
The Table Ritual took place once a month, when the red jar inside her mother’s belly emptied. His father, linear time, his sister, the white conscience, him, the black one. They tried to keep the white and black in balance inside the table, or something could happen in the city. Nadir was having trouble concentrating on everything that could go wrong so that his sister could counteract it, and so white was winning ground. Underneath the table, Nadir began to believe he could be something more than what his family expected from him. Graphite on paper.
Nadir hears a strange sound behind him, he turns around and sees the Old Man. A long, white-bearded man with a flame on the palm of his hand. Behind him: The Great Sea of which he has only heard in bed-time stories. How he would like to know the sea! Before he takes his place inside the family. Graphite on paper.
For the family picture, Nadir would have preferred to stay home, but there was no way to sneak out of it. Many things on The Wrong Side of Town depended of the balance within this family. Graphite on paper.
Nadir and his family come back home after shopping. He is 13 and like all men his age, feels he doesn’t fit anywhere. His little sister Cenit idolizes him, though they couldn’t be more different. Graphite on paper.