BLACK & WHITE DYSTOPIA
A LOT HAS CHANGED IN the life of Bengaluru-based graphic novelist George Mathen (38), aka Appupen, since his first novel, Moonward, 13 years ago. The changes aren’t limited to the physical world he inhabits. The mythical Halahala, in which his novels take place, is also in dire straits in his latest book, The Snake and the Lotus.
Resources are running out, putting the survival of the world at risk. The sun has stopped shining. This book focuses on a mysterious White City, surrounded by ruins and populated by a task-oriented population whose lives are devoid of
cultural and human references of any kind. Mathen has also developed an alien-looking lettering style to reflect their odd language.
The White City is shaped like a lotus and houses the upper echelons of the imaginary society. There is a god-like ruler in the dystopian city and the godlings here are white, while the subjects grey. Mathen does not shy away from discussing the obvious symbolism. “The city existed in my mind for a long time but as one overgrown with towers. The inspiration for the lotus came from references like ‘the lotus eaters’, its opiate nature and the lotus chakra. However, I won’t deny that it was cemented after the 2014 elections,” he says.
In the story, an ordinary citizen arrives in the city from the surrounding wastelands and ascends through its social hierarchy until she is eventually declared to be the chosen one, anointed with a white cream. People drink lotus milk that is both, the city’s main product and key to its people’s survival. Piped to everyone in their beds, the milk sustains the city’s residents but also suppresses thought and discourages speech that is not related to their allotted tasks.
The gods who live on top of White City walk around in superhero costumes and are rewarded with pills, while everybody else in the city has suppressed superpowers too. “The unrest begins when a new entrant, who has a deep connection with the life force, is faced with the most basic question of survival and has to make the decision to use his superpowers at the risk of turning hostile towards the cities,” says Mathen, careful not to give away the suspense.
The thoughts and ideas aren’t the only things that have evolved and reached new heights in Appupen’s latest. The book features more than 260 full-page detailed illustrations created over a period of two years. “The style is an homage to woodcut artist Lynd Ward and the beginning of graphic novels in the world. Before this, graphic art was only used as funny gags. His style, which I admire deeply, brought a serious edge to it,” says Mathen. The artist has also played with the concept of time with the story not always following a linear path. That presented more than the usual share of challenges, so Mathen in this novel introduced words into what started out as a silent comic. “Entering a graphic novel requires a certain suspension of disbelief. You have to trust the world to believe in the story. The
art here has to do that job... there can be no ambiguity in the visual space,” he says. “I felt the story was too complex to tell without text. The silent form is limiting since it relies on stuff we know, not new things. The reader isn’t always exposed to so much graphic art and the silent form would exclude some people,” he explains. However, at the risk of giving the plot away, he says the text isn’t narration as it might appear.
The novel also addresses the environmental destruction under way in our world. Mathen has reflected this scarcity in the proportions of the city’s people, making their bodies smaller than what is normal for our world.
“It is to say that they can only sustain that much with the resources available. After all, we can continue on this path only for so long,” says Mathen, who first thought of the idea in 2007, during his time at Greenpeace. This also ties in with Mathen’s belief of keeping his art relevant to the times we live in.
“Ultimately, your skills have to help you do something you stand for. All art is pointing in the same direction,” he says.