LDCOMICS ONLINE COMICS FAIR! Aleesha Nandhra describes the genesis of the comics in this collection in the following terms: “I usually initially make these for myself, to move through a thought – but I always find that sharing them leads me to interesting conversations with people that are also moving through the same experiences.” Of course, In My Shell I Am Safe is not the first time we have covered similar work from the 2019 Broken Frontier ‘Six to Watch’ artist. For more do check out our tagged articles of Nandhra’s practice here at BF.
Short, concise, but always profound, the strips in In My Shell I Am Safe do indeed act as catalysts for further consideration of the ideas and concerns they raise. They are largely thematic vignettes; minicomics of fragments of existential angst, reflection or meditation. Generally using just two panels per page, occasionally just the one, they flow in and out of each other, the immediacy of the moment the most important factor.
Some strips feel symbolic while others are very specific. Nandhra uses visual metaphor to articulate feelings of inner turmoil or a need for belonging; stripped back imagery taking us to the very core of the emotions being expressed. The snail-like shell of the title, a place of inner peace and refuge, being the obvious representational example (“Vacant but not unwelcoming… where it feels safe”). These are shorts where the wider realities being referred to are not as important as the familiarity of the feelings being depicted.
For the artists out there the back end of the comic with its thoughts on creative process, the freelance life and the pain of rejection will no doubt feel instantly recognisable. What has always most connected with me about Nandhra’s comics is the way the strips can say so much in so few images. In My Shell I Am Safe is an excellent example of that. A perfect entry point into the work of this ever visually eloquent artist.
Aleesha Nandhra (W/A) • LDComics Online Fair, £7.00
Review by Andy Oliver
The LDComics Online Comics Fair runs across the month of July. Read all our coverage of the comics on offer here at BF.
