Conundrum Press’s anniversary Conundrum 25 series of one-shots has provided the Canadian publisher with an opportunity to spotlight a diverse number of approaches to the medium alongside some powerful creative visions. Cole Pauls’ We See Stars Only at Night (or Lłēge zedle s̱on nes̱it’īn in Tahitan) is the eighteenth numbered book in this run of compact-sized graphic novellas.
Last year at Broken Frontier we took a look at Pauls’ book Kwändǖr, also published by Conundrum, that explored and celebrated the cultural practices and experiences of Dene and Arctic peoples. We said then of that collection of comics:
“Ultimately Kwändǖr’s strength is twofold and not simply in its commemoration of the lives and customs of Dene and Arctic peoples, as important as that obviously is. It’s also a book that will invite the reader, however much of an ally they may believe themselves to be, to question their attitudes and approaches to the issues and topics Kwändǖr brings up. Something any of us in a position of privilege always need to accept and embrace rather than defensively dismiss.”
We See Stars Only at Night is a dreamlike semi-narrative that was originally presented as part of the Nanaimo Art Gallery’s group show ‘Gutters and Elastic’ in 2023, here expanded into a longer-form comic. It’s a wordless journey and one that is in some ways difficult to describe because it’s asking us to be drawn into and experience the imagery on each page rather than directly follow it on a sequential reading level.
This is a book that is concerned with “the connection between land, regalia, performance and heritage” and Pauls provides us with a flowing series of illustrations that highlight Tahitan symbolism and motifs. Swirling patterns and shapes bring a sense of something otherworldly converging with reality, beginning with a starlit night and progressing through celestial representations of entities juxtaposed with the lives of indigenous peoples. It’s hypnotic and starkly beautiful in both construction and presentation.
This is, it must be noted, the kind of work that someone from my demographic cannot ever fully appreciate the nuance and importance of. But it’s also the sort of book that can serve to remind us to look outside the insularity of our own worldviews. Both Pauls and Conundrum Press continue to provide us with much valued practice in this regard.
Cole Pauls (W/A) • Conundrum Press, $10.00
Review by Andy Oliver
