The artworks in this collection illustrate a series of unpublished texts written by a friend, Ludovic Gaut.
Crouching Dragon, Burning Phoenix
26/12/2019
Ink on paper
The main character is trapped in a nightmare where he is forced to revisit a distorted and terrifying version of the apartment where he grew up. He progresses through the rooms against his will, his mouth sealed and his body paralyzed. The nightmare usually ends with him meeting a horrifying apparition and being annihilated in its chilling embrace. This time however, he manages to get the strength to confront the corpse-like creature, breaking free from his paralysis and shattering the seal on his mouth with a visceral scream.
The room is filled with various objects from the protagonist’s childhood, among which the statues of a phoenix and dragon, at rest in the real world but fighting each other in the nightmare. In this artwork, I decided to intertwine the struggle of the two mythical creatures.
The mage
23/04/2020
Ink on paper
In another text written by my friend Ludovic Gaut, a young girl named Ngày, enslaved in a weaving workshop, patiently waits the right occasion to escape. At night, a mysterious mage appears in her dreams, which I attempted to depict here. I chose to both draw the whole body, so that the viewer can appreciate the staff, robe and leather armor of the character, and the face, revealing a seductive expression, the index finger on the lips as to invite the viewer to keep his venue a secret. Both elements are connected with smoke, flowing from the mage’s robe and wrapping the suspended face and right hand, accentuating the surrealism of the scene.
The Mage is asking Ngày to “fear not” (upper-right text bubble), to “help him” (middle-left text bubble) and not to share “a word with the followers of the Just” (lower-left bubble). The Just being the lord ruling the land and enforcing the oppressive regime that keeps Ngày in her state of slavery, she might be tempted to cooperate with her unexpected visitor indeed…
Khóa
21/06/2020
Ink on paper
After a tense argument, the other girls who share the dormitory with Ngày decide to report her to the manager of the weaving workshop where they are all indentured, probably with the hope of getting rid of her. Ngày realizes that of all times, now would be best to execute her escape, whether she feels ready or not. Sadly, just as she finished gathering her meager belongings, the ominous voice of Khóa, the head keeper, freezes her on the spot…
In his text, Ludovic describes Khóa as “tall, muscular and heavy, with small petty eyes” and with “features reminding those of a wild boar”. I depicted him from a low-angle shot, as if seen from the eyes of a much smaller Ngày, emphasizing his grotesque and animal face as well as his threatening girth. Khóa wears a simple tank top and pants, and brings a plain baton as only weapon, an attire that fits with the role of a vile low-grade thief converted into a guard because of opportunism or perverse enjoyment… or maybe both.
Text translation: (right bubble): “Worker Ngày! The girls looked upset with you…”, (left bubble): “Follow me, I think you’re going to join them at the manager’s…”.
Tommyllustrations 