Illustrated by

Joel Hopler

The Inspiration

Northern Iraq: Peace, harmony and oil

Illustrator’s Notes

This illustration collects imagery of vegetation in reference to the article’s mention of the Garden of Eden in relation to Kurdistan. I wanted the overall composition to take on the yin and yang symbol of harmony, while the center is overtaken by an oil well. The article also gives hint to the potential for force being needed to protect the Kurdish “Garden of Eden”, so I included the translation for peshmerga, “those who face death”.