The comic is a very powerful medium that can present personal and public experiences in a deeply personal style. The art of the comic book is developed in India and themes associated with mythology and folk tales have pushed this forward. This art form will be presented by two comic authors, one from India and the other from France. Two countries with very distinctive styles, Lokesh Khodke from India and Jean-Marc Troubert from France will be presenting their work based on their collaboration as well as the work they have done before they met. ‘Comics & Culture: A Shared Journey from France and India’ will be held at Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts, Altinho, Panjim at 6.30 pm today, February 25.
The collaborators
Lokesh is the director of education at Art1st Foundation. He is also the co-founder of BlueJackal, publication which focuses on comic books. He was trained as a painter in Baroda and used to illustrate children's books. He also writes short stories. Over a period of time, he realised that he would have to make his own comics if he wanted his ideas and illustrations to come together.
The 45 year old comic author and author/ illustrator is currently working on a long graphic novel which he intends to complete by this year and have it published by BlueJackal publications. It is a life he says which gives him great joy because he is doing something that he loves.
His collaborator is an artist, Jean-Marc who prefers to live in a jungle in the south west of France. The 55 year old was always fixated on comics and took to it as a child. He had comics at home and at 17, he left for art school. During his time in art school, he published a few books with others and some on his own. He always found it fascinating doing work by himself. Now it is interesting to work with a partner.
Jean-Marc also known as Troubs said, “Now we meet, we chat and we then retire to work. It is a different perspective that you get and I laugh and say that I have a moving studio. Our ideas are different and we have different reactions. Doing a comic is simple, you need a paper and pen, simple tools. It is a great capacity to make comics.” It is fascinating to see his interest and what he makes of it all.
For his art, he lived in a forest because it was important for his creativity. He was of the opinion that Indians and generally Asians were closer to nature and they had a better relationship with it.
This joint-residency has been organised within the framework of the Villa Swagatam network of residencies, an initiative of the French Embassy in India and the French Institute in India. The residency partners are Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts (Artist-in-Residence Lab) and Maison des Auteurs and La Cité Internationale de la Bande Dessinée et de l'Image (Angoulême, France).
Difference in comic culture
Speaking about the comic culture in both the countries, Jean-Marc said it was rich in both, India and France, though in France, people would read about politics and other subjects in a comic which was not the case in India. “India has novels and it was up to the people to bring it up to the same level. The distribution of comics was far more in France than in India and that has to improve. Comics could be very interesting like a novel and people like Orijit Sen were doing that.”