The Future is Unwritten: Mona Chalabi, Years Stolen

Mona’s work during the COVID-19 pandemic merged illustration with data, presenting complex systems of critical health information for mass public consumption.

Understanding COVID-19 and Critical Health Messaging

Mona’s work during the COVID-19 pandemic merged illustration with data, presenting complex systems of critical health information for mass public consumption.

Social Distancing, Quarantine, Isolation

Social Distancing minimizes contact with people outside of your immediate household in order to prevent you and others from being exposed to the contagious disease.

Quarantine separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease to see if they become sick.

Isolation separates sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick.

Source: Centers for Disease Control, 2020

Wear a Mask

After working for a humanitarian organisation, Mona saw how important data was, but also how easily it could be used by people with their own specific agendas. Since then, her work has had one goal: to make sure as many people as possible can find and question the data they need to make informed decisions about their lives. Mona spends most of her time pouring over government-produced data sets, peer-reviewed studies, and official statistics.

“Statistics are definitely subjective, and I think that part of the intention of merging [them with art] is to make that more explicit,” Mona says.

Illustrated Data for Quality Education

“[I am] constantly searching for a bit of light in this darkness. I find it comforting that the global vaccine effort in response to this pandemic is unprecedented in terms of scale and speed. That said, we really need international cooperation to make sure that when a vaccine is developed, it is manufactured in enough quantity and distributed fairly (including in low-income countries). Still though, I found these numbers a bit of a relief from all the case counts, I hope you do too.”
—Mona Chalabi, April 2020

COVID-19 Data Illustrated: 2020

“We know that COVID-19 spreads faster in densely populated areas. This is a potential disaster for refugees. All of the advice that we’re being given - keep your distance from others, use soap and clean water, speak to a health provider if you show symptoms - it’s all near impossible if you live in a crowded refugee camp.”
—Mona Chalabi

America is Not America

The Business of Immigration: 2018

Sources: USA Spending.gov - June 2018, US Department of Health and Human Services - May 2018

Deaths from Terrorism

Palestinian and Israeli Fatalities Per Month

For Every $1 a White Man Earns… 2019

Years with a Female Head of State: 2018

Mandatory Paid Vacation: 2019

Number of Mass Shootings by Race of Shooter: New York Times Coverage: 2019

The Cost of Dying: 2020

Endangered Species on a Train: Mona Chalabi, 2018

Some species are so close to extinction, that every remaining member can fit on a New York subway car (if they squeeze).

Mona Chalabi is a New York-based data journalist and illustrator. Her work sheds light on otherwise faceless statistics, making her a popular commentator on contemporary politics. Taking statistical reports that highlight various global inequalities–such as the political crisis in Venezuela, or how minorities are more affected by air pollution in the United States–she visualizes data through poignant illustrations. Mona’s work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, New York Magazine, The Guardian and many more. She has written for radio and TV including Netflix (The Fix), BBC (Is Britain Racist?, Radio 4 and The Frankie Boyle show), NPR and National Geographic (Star Talk).

She is also an illustrator whose work has been commended by the Royal Statistical Society. Her work has been exhibited at several galleries including the Tate, The Design Museum and the House of Illustration. Lastly, she’s a producer and presenter. She’s one half of the team that created the Emmy-nominated video series Vagina Dispatches. And she presented and produced the audio experiment Strange Bird. Before she became a journalist, Mona worked with large data sets in jobs at the Bank of England, Transparency International and the International Organization for Migration. She studied International Relations in Paris and Arabic in Jordan. Mona was born and raised in London.