Comics

I’ve always loved comics – although it took me a while to be able to both read the speech bubbles and look at the pictures, not just one or the other – but I didn’t consider making them until quite late.

However, once I started, I couldn’t stop. My stories tend to be quiet and introspective: I love reflecting on what makes everyday and domestic life special, or giving the every day and domestic a slightly surreal twist.

I’m currently (sporadically) working on a story that explores my experiences working as a domestic help, and the way it helped me mourn my grandmother who had passed away just a month prior.

She was a very sweet woman, but communication between us was challenging for us both. As a domestic help I suddenly found myself visiting grandmothers on a daily basis, who each in their own way seemed to treat me like a bit of grandchild. They told me what their childhoods had been like, what career paths they had followed, what their children and grandchildren were doing with their lives – or just complained about aches and neighbours, which is their good right at that age I’d say!

It made a significant impact on me, and I couldn’t help wondering what it would’ve been like working for my grandmother, had we not known each other prior to that. What would she have chosen to share with me about her life?

Besides original stories I regularly produce short fan comics. The most prominent of which is a passion project that I’ve been picking up on and off since 2015, based on the manga “Mushishi.”

Never to be Shorn (2020) is a collaboration with Akitku, a Polish friend who is herself currently writing a medieval-fantasy themed comic, and a novel taking place in the same universe. This is a short story about Chlodvig and Theodosius, two boys from very different backgrounds who have formed an unexpected friendship, despite, or perhaps because of, their differences.

“Jasper” (2018) is my Master’s project: a graphic novel made up of fifty-two small woodcuts. It tells the origin story of my mother childhood dog, Jasper. I made this to find a connection with my mother’s family through anecdotes from her youth.

Free space (2018) is a slightly surrealistic comic about parking garages and curiosity.

The Stately Scarecrow (2017) was inspired by a short story I wrote for literature class concerning a scarecrow off duty enjoying a refreshing drink. I will let you decide what this is about..

“Aren’t You Scared By Yourself” (2017) is based on a true story about an unsettling middle aged man with a cheerful dog.

“Humid” (2016) reflects on some icky thoughts I sometimes have when a fly gets stuck in my eye..

This little story I named “Oee” (2015) – after the low whistling sound of wind – was inspired by the result of an Exquisite corpse type exercise my illustration class at the time engaged in.