Artist Anirban Saha works with a unique art form. He draws paintings in the form of graphic novels that are based on various socio-political and economic issues of the current times. As we chat, we discover more about his process. Excerpts from our chat:
How did you ideate this graphic novel artform?
When the pandemic hit, we faced difficulty in getting painting materials. I was thinking about how I could present a series of paintings in a different format. The first volume was made using handmade sheets that were lying around in my house, which were hand-stitched in the form of a book later. I usually draw these graphics with ink pens and watercolours. After the initial planning, I saw that working on this particular theme would lead me to create three to four volumes of work to bring all my thought processes on paper. Since it is a planned work, the volumes are interlinked. If one sees the third volume, one needs to go through the first and second volumes to fathom it clearly. In my works, text is not only an embellishment but also plays an unmissable, pivotal role.
How big are your graphic novels?
Each of my graphic novels consists of 26-30 pages.
What are the themes explored?
The overall theme surrounds pandemic. The title of my first three volumes was Masked Unmasked-Volume 1, 2, 3. The 4th volume is called Quarantine Notebook. The fifth volume called The Last Chapter shows the grim pictures of the pandemic and the after-effects of lockdown. The sixth, seventh, and eighth, have themes around Covid-19, but the content is about children’s tiffin boxes. The sixth volume shows how children are acquainted with the term “tiffin” and how they are missing out on enjoying it during their online classes. It also shows how tiffins play a significant role in bringing kids to Anganwadi schools. The seventh volume talks about the people ,who are helping us make those lunch boxes, like the vegetable and fruit sellers. The eighth volume sees online food delivery apps and how the delivery persons survived the pandemic.
The 9th and 10th volumes are on food vendors selling food mainly in local trains, railway stations or other public places. After finishing my 9th volume, I had to stay in Kerala for a residency project where I conceived the idea of my 11th and 12th volumes, which are based on coconut and its by-products.