Breaking the walls

Artist Anpu Varkey’s self-published comic book “Jaba” is an extension of the DIY philosophy she subscribes to

September 25, 2014 07:21 pm | Updated 07:21 pm IST

PET STORY: From the pages of “Jaba''

PET STORY: From the pages of “Jaba''

Every time you try to slot Anpu Varkey, she breaks its confines. So she paints on canvas, she paints on city’s walls and for the first time she has brought out a self-published comic book “Jaba” which she describes as an extension of her work. She doesn’t like being called a street artist but Anpu is best known for the colossal mural of Mahatma Gandhi, daily commuters get a clear view of on ITO. One of the largest life-size mural of Gandhi was jointly done by Anpu and famous German artist Hendrik Beikirch as part of St. Art Delhi, a street art festival held earlier this year. Otherwise, the 33-year-old artist from the Baroda School of Art, is taken in by urban cats. ‘The Cat with the woollen yarn’ at Shahpur Jat is yet another gift from Anpu to the city. Here she talks about her latest project “Jaba” which too revolves around her favourite animal.

Your comic book “Jaba” is about a cat. How have you approached the subject? You have often painted cats on huge walls but here the canvas was much smaller.

This book is about Jaba, my companion. I work from home, and spend numerous hours observing the beast, while sleeping, repose, jumping, acting dumb. The drawings I initially made were observations of the cat, doing major repetitive activities in a day... A cat’s life…deplete of text, with hints of sound. With a wall you have an almost static image, but with a comic you can have it do a plethora of things. This is an extension of the works done on walls. It helps me situate my work within various contexts, and I am curious to try new things.

Your book doesn’t have any text. Do you want it to be viewed as purely a visual narrative without any distractions?

I didn’t want the cat to have a voice, apart from the sounds he would generally create and other audible, non audible sounds within its environment. It is a muted encounter. By focusing on a penetrative visual narrative, through numerous cross hatchings, a task I deeply enjoyed.

Why the decision to self-publish it?

Definitely with a publisher you have a safe distribution network, but they pinch you of the profits. You can self publish a book through Kindle. There are seemingly many ways to go about self publishing. It reiterates a sense of ownership, which to many people might seem unimportant. I plan to approach some outlets in Delhi, take it Mumbai, Bangalore and Berlin as of now. The social media platform is also a good tool to spread the word.

Self publishing allows me to have a bigger control over the distribution of the book. I could print it when I like, take it directly to shops and ask for a distribution outlet. Alternatively I could also sell it online, again allowing me to be the sole benefactor for it, without giving away too much of the profits. It would help me learn a bit about various kinds of distribution networks available online and otherwise. This is an experiment and I am willing to learn from it. By bringing it to street art festivals, I can sell to people who don’t visit bookshops and as such, it seeks a different audience. The tale continues, cats on walls, cats in books. This definitely is an extension of the Do It Yourself (DIY) philosophy, that I have adopted since been part of sub-cultural centre in Bremen called Zucker. Friends of mine run their own record labels, do the art themselves. They do, however, have distribution networks, but the basic premise is the same, you do everything yourself. I am heavily influenced by their ideology.

In the world of street art how has the Gandhi mural on the wall of Delhi Police HQ changed things?

It has put face of the most famous man in India on a government building like the police headquarters, something which is less likely to be achieved anywhere else in the world. My neighbours know me as a muralist now and talk to me about my projects, so the fame has allowed me more interactions in my neighbourhood.

What is the first mural you did in Delhi and how has the genre of street art evolved over the years?

The very first mural I did in Delhi was for ‘Extension Khirkee’ — a street art festival organised in March 2012 by Aastha and Matteo. Since art in public spaces is viewed by multitudinous people, there is a hysteria behind it. Everyone wants to know more about it. People ask you to paint their homes, their walls, and this could be anyone from the public. The genre is still evolving and a new generation of street artists will be nurtured through the exposure.

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