The Boy Who Didn't Fit in the Box

Editora Matrescência, 2022

Published in 2022 by Editora Matrescência and written by Luiza Ghizoni, The Boy Who Didn’t Fit in the Box is part of the Virtues Collection, a series of books born from the author's clinical practice with the aim of comforting children and their families during challenging times. Each volume is composed of two different stories, starting from opposite sides of the book and meeting at the center, creating a complementary and intertwined narrative. This title addresses the virtue of empathy within the context of autism spectrum children.

Rather than following traditional visual approaches that often isolate or diminish the individuality of autistic children, I proposed a poetic inversion: here, the autistic child is portrayed in all his vibrancy and authenticity, while the "world around him" is depicted as rigid figures trapped inside metaphorical boxes, a subtle critique of societal norms that try to dictate what is considered acceptable.

On the other side of the book, in the story titled The Puppy with Heart-Shaped Eyes, I illustrated the journey of an assistance dog from birth, through training, until his encounter with the protagonist — reinforcing themes of empathy, autonomy, and unconditional affection.

For this project, I worked with a limited color palette and a combination of traditional artistic materials such as acrylic paint, colored pencils, charcoal, graphite, water-soluble wax pastels, and collage, seeking to create tactile, emotionally rich images that capture the depth of these journeys.

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