THOUGHT BUBBLE MONTH 2026! Shri Gunasekara is one of this year’s Broken Frontier ‘Six to Watch‘ creators and there’s something neatly cyclical about interviewing as part of our Thought Bubble coverage this year. Although I first discovered Shri’s comics in the pages of the ever excellent Boxes anthology it was her graphic novel Runner, reviewed as part of our Thought Bubble Month in 2025, that convinced me to include her in this year’s BF Six.
For our first Thought Bubble-focussed interview this year I chat with Shri about the themes of her work, her experimental approach to the page, and what we can expect next from this hugely talented emerging voice…
Shri on the right with fellow ‘Six to Watch’ artist Rein Lee at this year’s LICAF
ANDY OLIVER: Let’s start by asking you to introduce yourself to the Broken Frontier readers and tell us about your wider artistic background.
SHRI GUNASEKARA: I’m Shri Gunasekara, a queer, mixed nationality artist based in Wales. I’ve been an Illustrator/Author for just under 10 years, making comics about culture, family, and siblinghood. I love telling stories that celebrate family structures through a multicultural lens, highlighting intimate moments that often are overlooked in the Western world.
AO: What was your entry point into comics? What first drew you to the form as your medium of choice?
GUNASEKARA: Being drawn to comics is actually probably from my struggle with reading and dyslexia. However this means I have incredibly visual abilities combined with my natural skills in making stories, meaning the best way for me to create stories was via comics.
My first official comic was done during college (we’re not including all the fan comics I did in my sketchbooks). It was amazing, and was so obviously my first comic. It was super rushed as it they always are, just under 40 pages long, riddled with spelling mistakes and so very rough.
However, it was the first time I could convey a deep complex story without wholly relying on words, and that is what makes me keep coming back.
AO: I first discovered your work via the short story ‘When I Say I Love You’ (above) in ThirdBear Press’s Boxes anthology, which I described as “a beautiful piece of graphic poetry; a sumptuous journey into individual moments of love and appreciation.” What are the themes you like to explore in your comics practice?
GUNASEKARA: As mentioned above in my introduction, I love exploring themes of culture, family, and siblinghood; something that all these themes share is love.
Growing up in a very tight-knit family and being queer, I’ve always found romantic love to be so inflated and commercialised for overconsumption. I’ve found so much belonging and happiness with fostering my love for my siblings, family and friends, something more normalised in my Asian cultures.
However, recently I have been exploring themes of generational trauma, responsibility and children growing up too quickly. Although this does feel like quite a theme shift in my work, my work will always have love at its core, will always have siblinghood at its core; just now I want to acknowledge the difficult moments that can come with living.
AO: Getting involved in anthologies is something I always advise newer creators to consider as a way of building up a profile and a network. How valuable a stepping stone was that involvement in something as acclaimed as Boxes for you?
GUNASEKARA: It was so, so valuable for my comics career; it was amazing to have the opportunity to create a short mini comic, showcasing my storytelling abilities and illustrations in an anthology where people can look at it. Such a fantastic portfolio piece. Without collaborating with Boxes, you Andy would probably have never seen my work, and I probably wouldn’t be in the Six to Watch 2026 right now.
AO: Your first longer-form work was Runner (above and below) Can you tell us about the premise of that book and how it came to Inky Fruit Co.?
GUNASEKARA: Runner is my most recent graphic novel following a girl who has been following in her mother’s footsteps, with her siblings on her shoulders, she is pushed to the limit and forced to confront the fear that has been chasing her family this whole time. It explores responsibility, adolescence and generational trauma in this 198-page semi-silent marathon of a graphic novel.
How this book came got to Inky Fruit.Co, was very much the right time, right place. While drafting this story, Inky Fruit Co was just launching as a small press and needed a book launch with their opening that had an unconventional format and could be traditionally printed and produced.
We then worked together to get it completed for Thought Bubble 2025, which was definitely a squeeze but so worth it!
AO: Looking at work like Runner and your most recent comic Built for Love (below), it’s clear you understand the specific language of comics and its unique properties. How important is that sense of experimenting with the form’s potential to you in connecting with your readership?
GUNASEKARA: It’s very important; I like to let two elements lead the visual language for my comics. Pushing the unique properties of comics to support and emphasise the story, and using elements I’m curious/enjoy drawing.
These two elements shape the language of each comic I create. Runner used a long landscape format, and this is to push this idea of distance; this space that the protagonist just can’t cross.
Built for Love used a more traditional size and shape, but with very experimental panelling to push each emotional tone more.
These are very intentional approaches I take to push the story and further connect to my readers.
AO: Your use of colour is exceptional in your visual storytelling. Can you tell us about how you employ colour to complement and emphasise the emotional range of your practice?
GUNASEKARA: For me, colour is a very intuitive process – it’s always been something I’ve been drawn to. But something I think a lot about is the emotional narrative of the story – and how the colours can show that.
A technique I enjoy using in my work is thinking about colour and visual weight. How can the colour weight support the power dynamics within the story.
AO: Can you give us some insights into your creative process and the mediums you work in?
GUNASEKARA: I actually spend a lot of time mulling over a projects. In regards to Runner, although the production was a very quick turnaround, I actually spend a few months just thinking about her and drawing some doodles, and I actually think this is a fundamental part of my creative process. All my projects take time to marinate in my head before anything substantial can be done.
Once they are ready, I start thumbnailing and sketching my characters. I try understand their movements and personality. Figuring the characters out while drawing.
When storyboarding I use the long yellow sticky notes, kinda like an animator, as I feel having the ability to ‘move’ a panel easily can be so helpful when creating sequential work.
AO: You also run comics-related workshops. What sort of things have you explored in those?
GUNASEKARA: Yes, I’ve run multiple comic-related workshops, usually aimed at young people. In these workshops, I explore some comic fundamentals, such as ‘getting started in comics’ and ‘create your own graphic novel character’.
It’s a really fun way to be able to directly give back to your community.
AO: And, finally, what’s next for Shri Gunasekara? Are there any other comics projects you can tell us about?
GUNASEKARA: Yes, my partner and I are currently working on a joint project about two girls and the bike they share. It’s a story about children having to navigate life without the correct support and how children process that. I’m really excited about it because I really believe I’m pushing my storytelling abilities with this comic.
I’m also working on a comic for ShortBox! (So excited I got in!) This is a comic about faith, siblinghood and rediscovering belief . It’s going to be heavily inspiring by South Indian, Sri-Lankan and Hinduism. It’s being so healing rediscovering my heritage and my Hindu upbringing, I’m so excited to share it with everyone!
Interview by Andy Oliver
Shri Gunasekara is at Table A17a in the Redshirt Hall at Thought Bubble.
Thought Bubble 2026 runs from November 9th-15th with the convention weekend taking place on the 14th-15th. More details on the Thought Bubble site here.
Read all our Thought Bubble 2025 coverage so far in one place here.
Poster art by Núria Tamarit
