The Heat Will Kill You First

Cover illustration for New York Times Book Review to accompany Jennifer Szalai’s piece about “The Heat Will Kill You First”. In this book, its author, Jeff Goddell suggests that humanity should take heat far more seriously than it does and explains that no privilege can protect from it. I wanted to depict the urgency of fire and explicitly show the burning planet. Artwork suggests that this is the last living flower in a deserted place - and now the last remaining flower is on fire. I chose to illustrate blue iris because it is a symbol of hope, even if it's slowly burning away.

Art Direction by Catherine Gilmore-Barnes