Snakes, unrequited love, and tragic murder. Federico García Lorca is one of Spain’s greatest literary figures, and is one of the most widely recognized Spanish writers in the English-speaking world. In August 1936, after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Lorca was executed by firing squad for being a homosexual; his books were burned publicly, and his name forbidden by the Franco government.

After weeks of research and having collected hundreds of his photographs, love letters, and drawings, I decided to document the events of Lorca’s life by designing a poster using his romantic and tragic biography. I wanted to adapt the vernacular of the newspaper to recall the political conflicts his writing brought him. I also wanted the reader to be able to trace the events of his life from birth to death with collaged mementos from the artist’s family and friends. I intended this poster to celebrate the poet’s life and to commemorate that his death made him a martyr and an international symbol of political repression.