An exploration of comic art on view at Hygienic
We all know what comics (in both strip and book form) are. "Garfield," "Dilbert," "Dennis the Menace" and "Peanuts" are perhaps the most popular examples of the medium and are widely loved for their happy-go-lucky comedy style. Digging further into internet culture, you’ll find "XKCD" or "Cyanide and Happiness," both of which bank on a darker sense of humor and rudimentary artistic styles. Exploring all the facets of what a comic can be, then, is the topic of Hygienic’s newest show, “Choose Your Own Adventure.” Curated by comic artist Bradley Sheridan, the exhibition includes the works of seven other comic artists. The concept of the show, according to Sheridan’s written description, is “to take your initial ideas of what comics are … and turn it on its head.”
To give you a better idea of what might be on view, I dug back a few years through the curator’s blog, which features his comic strip creations of a cute, green dinosaur (also featured throughout the show). The dinosaur will talk about, well, anything, and most times, it won’t really make much sense. But that’s the point, according to the artist in a 2015 post he wrote while reflecting on his life and art. “I want this comic to be weird. I want people to not get it. It’s not meant to be got, every time. Life is like that. You don’t get everything.” This idea might be the best thing to keep in mind while visiting the exhibit. You might not understand everything you see, especially as the show makes an effort to break those preconceived notions of what comic art is “supposed” to be. We say, then, embrace the new and bizarre and have fun.
"Choose Your Own Adventure" is on view now and will run through May 5. Hygienic Galleries is located at 79 Bank St., New London. Admission is free. Hours are 2-7 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and noon-4 p.m. Sunday; (860) 443-8001.