Adding life and colour to stories

Pic/Garima Gupta

In an interview with Jean Stein of The Paris Review, that doesn't fall short of being memorable, legendary American writer William Faulkner contemplates the meaning of life through the eyes of an artist. "The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again since it is life," he said. And perhaps, that's why it is hard to not judge a book by its cover, or stories brought to life by their
illustrations.

This Saturday, three artists, Mumbai-based Garima Gupta, Himanshu S and Sameer Kulavoor, will explore the medium of illustration at a daylong session hosted by Avid Learning with Peek a Book - Festival of Children's Literature. "We aim to give our participants an in-depth understanding of nuances involved in illustrating stories, be it graphic novels, animated narratives, self-published zines, illustrating for merchandise or murals. The experts will delve into their processes and also share insights on technicalities [like software used] while focusing on contemporary methods of experimental printing and publishing," says Asad Lalljee, CEO of the organisation.

Himanshu S, Garima Gupta, Sameer Kulavoor

Artist and researcher Garima Gupta will begin the session by highlighting the process of illustrating, animating contemporary narratives and share her journey of being an independent artist. Gupta, who has illustrated two graphic novels, When Crows are White by Jerry Pinto, and Two by the Indo-Swedish writer duo Örjan Persson and Paro Anand, says that much has changed since she first started out. "There are more avenues, both established and informal. There is a wide variety of voices now, beyond the usual client-brief setting. This has drastically changed the dialogue. Since our work is a solitary endeavour, much of it is never spoken about - process, stories, the many jokes and struggles that come with it. I think it will be interesting to hear three people with diverse practices open up," she says.

Illustrator Himanshu S of Bombay Underground, a zine library, will conduct an interactive zine-making session and present their in the context of the independent publishing industry. "Participants will be guided to craft a zine that is autobiographical in nature. We have our own variety of zines that will be shown, as well as those made by the kids at Dharavi Art Room. Some are themed around surveillance and counter culture," he shares, adding that the art form today is more design-oriented and compromises on content. "It was originally made by people from the edges of society and now you have brands entering the space. It is scary but it's also fun because people can push the boundaries."

On October 27, 10 am to 4 pm
At Essar House, Mahalaxmi.
Log on to avidlearning.in
Cost Rs 1,000 and Rs 750 (for students with valid Student ID)

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, crime news, current affairs, and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates