This piece centers around the theme of guardianship and fighting through adversity to live the life we choose. Through pain and conflict, we may stand our ground to protect our loved ones and values and perhaps even inspire strength to those who need it. The snake acts as a protector but also a vivid reminder of the challenges we will always be faced with. Though we may get hurt, we need to know when to make a stand and embrace the life we want to live despite fear. The snake encourages our hearts and mind to embrace what may come and face it and the rewards or hard earned effort.
Neana (Alana Palahnuk) is a Canadian illustrator who grew up in a small township in Northern Ontario and now resides in Vancouver, British Columbia. They graduated from Emily Carr University of Art and Design with a Bachelor in Fine Arts, majoring in Illustration. Their ongoing projects include various comics and graphic novels, as well as illustration projects playing with bright colours, character design and themes of nature and survival.
The Lantern City is grateful to be held on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam Indian Band), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish Nation), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation). We acknowledge our privilege to be gathered on this land, and commit to work with and be respectful to the Indigenous peoples whose arts and stories inspire us to bring communities together.
