Sound of Silence is a fully handcrafted mini zine I created in 2023. It consists of 14 pages in a compact 6×6cm folded format, hand-rendered on 200g fiber paper and finished with saddle-stitch binding. The entire workflow — from illustration and trimming to final binding — was completed in a single overnight session.

The work grew out of the persistent heart palpitations I suffered after three COVID-19 infections. The heavy, thudding heartbeat engulfed me and sparked deep anxiety about my health, which I transformed into the story’s core metaphor: the pounding heartbeat is visualized as a little monster dwelling inside the heart, while I am personified as a tiny sparrow. As my anxiety mounted, the monster grew larger and struck with greater force, until it finally shattered the heart from within.

The moment of destruction also marks the story’s turning point. After sustaining a palette of black, white and grey throughout the book, the final page (the back cover) bursts into vivid color: the dim grey heart blooms into rainbow hues, and delicate saplings shaped like blood vessels sprout from its fractured edges. Through this work, I want to express that both physical and emotional hardships have their limits. To push through the oppressive darkness and survive the heaviest blow is to meet the dawn of renewal.

Built on monochrome tones to convey the weight of physical distress, the work creates a striking visual contrast with its climactic color reveal. This impulsive, rapid creation faithfully retains the raw, authentic emotional texture of that period. It is not only an artistic translation of bodily experience, but also an act of self-healing realized through creative practice.