Forbidden Pages: Most Challenged I,II,III

This limited-edition letterpress print is one of three E.V. (Editions Variable) titled Most Challenged, part of the Forbidden Pages Collection. Inspired by Maia Kobabe’s Gender Queer—the most banned and challenged book in American public schools—this print uses bold typography and stark contrast to visualize the cultural and political weight of erasure.

Across the center, the words GENDER and QUEER are printed vertically in large, overlapping teal-to-indigo gradient type. Overlaid in hot pink and lavender tones are phrases like MOST CHALLENGED, BANNED, IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, and BOOK—layered and fractured, evoking both censorship and resistance. The clash of color and orientation forces the viewer to read carefully, to piece together the message—mirroring the effort required to access suppressed narratives.

Referencing Kobabe’s bestselling 2019 autobiographical graphic novel, this work acknowledges the power of queer storytelling and the fear it incites in systems invested in silence. Through the precision of letterpress and the immediacy of protest, MOST CHALLENGED I stands as a visual act of defiance and affirmation.