A TRAVEL GUIDE FOR THE UNWANTED
My name is JC Candanedo, UK-based Queer Multidisciplinary Artist. In my book A Travel Guide For The Unwanted: A Visual and Poetic Investigation into the Criminalisation of Identities Considered Threats to the State, I explore how the identities that I inhabit are criminalised or unwelcome in some parts of the world. I made the book by hand, hand-printing images on hand-dyed paper, and I stitched them together by hand using the Coptic binding method. I dyed all the pages using plants endemic to the American continent as I do with the rest of my work.
According to a Humanists International survey in 2026, ‘Blasphemy’ laws exist in 89 countries across the globe. In seven countries, an atheist considered a ‘blasphemer’ may be sentenced to death, and simply being accused can put your life at risk long before any trial. A further 63 countries prescribe prison sentences ranging from months to years. It is possible to receive a fine or other administrative sanction in 19 countries.
A recent survey by Human Dignity Trust revealed that in 2026, 65 countries criminalise LGBTQ+ people and almost half of those jurisdictions are part of the Commonwealth.
The "hostile environment" immigration policy, introduced by former Tory Prime Minister Theresa May in 2012 when she held the position of Home Secretary, is the direct cause of the anti-immigrant sentiment that we are living in the UK in 2026. She admitted this policy was a mistake during a TV documentary where she said she did not foresee the problems it would cause for immigrants in general.
In 1936, Federico García Lorca was murdered by Franco’s forces 'for being a red and a faggot,' as his executioners said. In 2026, I’m not sure I feel any safer than he was almost 100 years later.
To make the content of the book available to everyone, I made a limited edition zine. Message me to learn more:
A Visual and Poetic Investigation into the Criminalisation of Identities Considered Threats to the State (2026): water-based polymer pigment ink on recycled paper stock. Limited edition of 51.
Selected pages:
