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The book review of The Gorgeous Habour The Gorgeous Habour pulls several threads together; touching on some very important issues and aspects of today’s person and the life that one leads in an ever-growing world, and ties them with the character of Astrolapin. Simple, fresh and new in its look and style, Mr. Clement’s latest work falls into a different genre of comic work. The way the book is laid out, is in itself unique. The artist exhibits his ability to present his ideas slowly and subtly, however, with clarity, giving the reader the space and time to think and to mull over each frame, to realise its essence. Much like an animation, every frame introduces a tiny change which holds great meaning in the larger picture; the artist’s seeming intention being to cultivate the patience in his reader and to make him come back to it again and again, to take time to discover each detail and the significance of it. A striking feature of the book is that the dialogues come later, on the back of the frames, allowing the reader to ponder over the images and think for himself. Towards the beginning, every frame is a single frame but as one turns the pages the two frames on a page need to be conjoined to see what’s happening. However, Mr. Clement does not stick to any one rule, there are actions happening outside of the frames, the character walks on the frame, the frames themselves change, and then one comes across a frame which is even larger than the book, which has to be folded in as a page. The artist plays around with space, using simple things to convey larger meanings. With the intermission, the artist introduces theatre into his work, as if it's the time to stop and reflect over what has happened, savour that which you have tasted and wait in anticipation of what is to come. The book touches on the commonest themes in today’s comics, violence, sex, porn, love, the rapidly changing world, industrialisation, but what sets The Gorgeous Harbour apart is the manner in which it is done. Astrolapin is constantly exploring these harbours but Mr. Clement through his character is asking, attempting, and challenging whatever confronts him. This work is different in that it is not merely presenting an issue or a theme but rather taking up a discussion of it, initiating a process of questioning. The very character of Astrolapin is so fascinating. Human and yet alien, intriguing and yet so common a person within. This book is a question: In a comic, what is form and content? Perhaps form can be content sometimes! Being a bilingual work, The Gorgeous Harbour is a good attempt to cross the Chinese shores of Hong Kong and appeal to a wider audience. In itself, The Gorgeous Harbour uses a different language of comic and Mr. Clement through his simple lined sketches takes the reader on different flights, of fantasy, of imagination, of love, of innocence, of fear, of anguish, of longing, of remorse, of questions and of infinite thoughts. Ruchika Mishra ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- ----------------- I read the book with great pleasure. It's absolutely creative and nouveau... I must say Mr Clement's work has broken new ground as far as my limited knowledge can tell. It's an eclectic form of graphic combining illustration, photos, cinematic and theatrical effect. The minimalism and neatness remind me of Zuni's production. Yet Mr Clement's work surpass them as it's not form driven but humanistic. It's sense of darkness lightened by its artistic wit. It's violence subdued with its poetic subtlety. It's a work of intelligence and passion. Both shocking and touching. Mr Clement is clever to choose a form--displays of techniques which is also the subject under subversion, thus creating a tension both in and between its content and form. I believe a genuine reader cannot resist the work which is amazing and admirable..." Janet Shum ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- ----------------- An astronaut rabbit, and emptiness, are the true heroes of mr clement. A silent and profound comic, in black and white, on the emptiness of the time, of distance and of absence. This astrolapin, taoist and cosmonaut in reality, is originated? from the traditional Chinese philosophy. Not acting/ reacting?. Leaving the breath and énergy of the Cosmos to circulate freely, which will bring back for him – he hopes - news from far, a letter of the woman he likes, who has left for another end of the world, in the West, in Britain to be exact. « A bird on my head » stages the relationships of astrolapin with the others: every page is a label, an empty day or writing the passing time in fine black stroke. Mr Astrolapin eats an apple, puts moisturising lotion all over his hands, sews up his arm, tangles the ears, looks at the watch, sees autumn arrive, pulls himself a bullet in the forehead accidentally, gets tensed/ nervous?, dreams of making love to his lover. Listening music, music of his love to her, of smoke and of the art in mind to occupy the spirit, space and time. Time when a bird arrives, nests itself on his head and… gets killed, or has he really been beaten? But the other, the distance, the separated time has done no more but incompréhension between them?: a photograph that has no connection, gigantic paddles for a miniature canoe; he eats when he is bored; he sees himself become an orchestra conductor then have his hands cut off, become a magician without hand, a magician with a white bird on his head. messenger with his double of the taï-chi under the snow looks at the clouds moving, to the right, to the left.a truck falls, hits a samouraï, the blood turns into a black painting the double of mr astrolapin draws a white bird and since life imitates art, the bird becomes real and he pulls the trigger on a revolver, blows it off in the head and in French, we say: kill the time. In « l’attente », small book without word but legend, this astrolapin discusses with his double. An empty face. An occupied/full face whose eyes are filled with snow, with anticipation of winter, of autumn, of the circulating time. And mr clement astonishes us by his incredible sense of short cut, of drawn haïku, of pencil aphorisme? A sense of humour, humour of senselessness, English, elegant, perfect and the worthy oscar wilde, In « le port magnifique », a true wordless novel, a new window is open. A pot of green plant. An envelope. Astrolapin confides his letter to a wild goose, just like the pigeon traveler. The seasons march. The plant germinates, buds, pollen to wish. Snow. An island of building-sites. Factory of the future. Questions of space (yes, it’s true, the earth floats) By sebastien, gallery64 Paris ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- ----------------- Comment on The Gorgeous Habour - Letters with no replies Begin with a melancholic prologue, The Gorgeous Habour, is about the relationship between Astrolapin and the place he lives. Two blank grids on the first page followed by a window and a withered plant on the second, the letter scene is displayed step by step through Mr Clement cinematic presentation. A letter is sent and Astrolapin seems to be waiting for a reply year after year. Though what the letter is about has not been mentioned, its significance can be seen as Mr. Clement intentionally echoed the prologue with the epilogue. Following the letter scene in the prologue, Astrolapin appears in an industrial city. It is a scene with violence in which he chopped the triangular head down while they were discussing the city’s future. Perhaps the use of violence resembles the hopelessness of Astrolapin that he has no way to express his angst anymore. His desperate feeling is shown again through the letter he received at the end of this scene: an inverted heart. The letter scenes appear again later on in the book. It appears when Astrolapin rides on the train. The train passes through the forest and a decay city which is about to sink. The messenger the bird is just like the one in Noah’s Ark flying above the sinking city to Astrolapin with a letter in his beak. But the end of the scene is so different from Noah’s Ark. The bird is killed by an arrow from nowhere. The arrow went through the neck and he is killed. Perhaps the bird the messenger has a mission. It is to tell Astrolapin that the future of the city is not hopeless. But the story goes with a fatal end for the bird. Does it mean that the city has the same fate as the bird? There comes almost the end of the book, Astrolapin burns the letter right after he receives it and that makes the story goes with a pessimistic overtone. After the exciting and violent astronautic journey, Astrolapin finally goes back to his room, undresses his astronautic outfit and puts on his overcoat and scarf again. Then he sits at the desk and starts to write his letter like the very beginning. A letter is written without sending but is put on the windowsill. The withered plant disappears and what is left is only an empty flowerpot. Astrolapin turns off the light and the story ends with the fading of the window, the flowerpot and the letter. So much for the letter scenes and of course, there are still other episodes that can be discussed in The Gorgeous Habour. Although the story is fragmented, you may probably find some clues from the elements Mr. Clement used. The Gorgeous Habour is not just a comic which tells us a funny story, it is also a story about ‘search’, ‘struggle’ and ‘hope’. I share the ambivalent feeling of Mr Clement too. By Vicky Lee,Hong Kong ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- ------------------- ----------------- retail: info@mrclement.com wholesale : DKelemer@aol.com
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