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This third year brief asked for a book cover for one of two books, of which I chose ‘Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit’ by Jeanette Winterson. This semi-autobiographical novel looks at the life of Jeanette, a lesbian girl born into a Christian upbringing. I was interested in the concept of religious pilgrimage as well as the symbols representing gender and sexuality. My idea was to portray Jeanette bearing a wooden cross (as is part of Christian tradition), but to incorporate overlapping Venus symbols representing lesbian coupling. This expresses the nature of Jeanette’s sexuality as both a burden and a commitment, while the characters suggest differing outlooks; one of shame and inner turmoil, the other of pride and self-confidence.