Shannon Wright (illustrator)

Shannon Wright (born 20 January 1994) is a cartoonist and illustrator from Massaponax, Virginia who has gained notoriety for her political, feminist, and racial discussion in her works of art.

About

After graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in Communication Arts in 2017, she quickly became known for her illustrative political statements and representations of natural black hair. In addition to her various freelance projects with companies including TIME, BBC, The Guardian, Bitch Media, Boom Studios, The New York Times, Eater, The Baffler, The Nib, and Mother Jones, Wright was also the Editor-in-Chief for the VCU Comics Anthology, EMANATA, and an Illustrations Editor for The Commonwealth Times.

Early life

Shannon Wright grew up in Virginia, and shared many interests with her brothers due to her status as the only girl among the siblings. She cites this as an original reason she was exposed to anime and cartoons so extensively as a child. When deciding on which college to attend, Wright was denied from Governor's School for the Arts; this was just one obstacle, along with others such as finances, gender and race.^[1] Wright utilizes this adversity from her early life in her current work, creating art alongside pieces of writing that speak to some of these topics.

Career

Shannon Wright is celebrated in part for her realistic representation of the black community through her art. These representations range from the depiction of natural black hair and traditional hairstyles to responses of the black community to Donald Trump's rhetoric. In an interview with Wright about her motivations in creating her anthology of natural hair, she revealed that the illustrations came about with an assignment to illustrate the meaning of being a knight; thus, she created a black female warrior with Bantu knots.^[2] This media representation affects how communities are viewed by those who are not a part of them.^[3] In this way, Wright's comics contribute to cultural clarification and bolstering of the black community. Her comic 'Eight Ways to Resist Donald Trump' ^[4] catalogues a response to the Trump presidency, with an emphasis on unity, wellness, and resistance. While Wright does catalogue much social commentary in these areas, she also supports causes such as environmentalism, as seen in "Hate Mowing Your Lawn? Good! Don't Do It.";^[5] In this piece, she documents the historical reasons for the normalization of perfect lawns in American culture, and replies to them with facts about the harmful nature of pesticides, water waste, and frequency of lawn mower injuries.

Published Illustration

• Betty Before X by Ilyasah Shabazz; book cover illustration by Wright
• 'Stolen Identity', an illustrative piece accompanying Lisa Selin Davis' article for The Guardian^[6]
• 'Harlem Gentrification', an illustrative piece accompanying Rose Hackman's article for The Guardian, "What will happen when Harlem becomes white?"^[7]
• "Is Technology Racist?" for TIME Magazine^[8]
• Contributions to Bitch Media's group show: No Feminism, No Future
• Kaboom Adventure Time #57 comics cover for Boom Studios^[9]
• VCU Opera and VCU Symphony promotional material for "The Medium" and "La Cambiale di Matrimonio"
• "What Americans Ate During 2016's Biggest Moments" for Eater^[10]
• "Sanctuary Restaurants" for Eater^[11]
• "Get Thee to A City of Ladies" for The Baffler^[12]
• "Move Fast and Break Things" for The New York Times^[13]
• "Reading Rainbow" for Mother Jones^[14]
• "Why Don't More African Americans become organ donors?" for BBC News^[15]
• "Kids These Days" with Bitch Media^[16]
• "Hate Mowing Your Lawn? Good! Don't Do It." collaborative effort with Ted Steinberg for The Nib^[5]
• "Eight Ways To Resist Donald Trump" collaborative effort with Sarah Mirk for The Nib^[17]
• "Trump, Black Americans Don't Need Your Help" for The Nib^[18]

Awards

• 2015 Certificate of Merit from the Virginia Press Association in illustration
• 2016 Bobbi Braun Award from the Society of Illustrators

Themes

Shannon Wright's illustrative themes throughout her works include intersectional feminism, politics, and environmental issues. She also illustrates images alongside articles, books, and magazines, many of which depict cultural issues including but not limited to: racism in politics and technology, lack of access to medical resources in the black community, and gentrification of black neighborhoods. In this way, even her wordless comics contribute to articles that inform about contemporary issues in the United States. Betty Before X is one of Wright's first book cover illustrations, and its subject matter is relevant to both intersectional feminism and racial topics, as it is based upon the life of Dr. Betty Shabazz, civil rights advocate.

References