To The Other Side (2023, Katherine Tegan Books, an imprint of Harper Collins) was made as an act of resistance and a letter of hope, both for the readers familiar with the journey and those who knew nothing about it. The story of two siblings looking for safety, it was the result of editor Mabel Hsu's fantastic faith and support after she spotted a response painting in my Twitter in 2018, at the start of the family separation policy being enacted by the US government.

The aim was to craft a story that didn't preach, yet managed to entertain, create empathy and inform. The fantastical then became the vehicle to tell the truth: symbols, metaphors and repeated motifs became the visual language that complemented the gentle text entrenched in the innocence of childhood. It was then proof-read and enriched  by children  in Espacio Migrante, a refugee shelter in my Tijuana, Mexico.

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Despite the serious subject-matter, this book was born out of a playful approach to work made possible by the trust of my editor. Collage, word games and a mask sketchbook all created the seeds that allowed a game that uses play as the way to mask a crude reality that has cost thousands of lives in borders all over the world, every day.