Reloaded is the latest in the Lingua Comica series of publications and showcases the work of 12 alumni of ASEF’s Lingua Comica programme, which tapped on the wide appeal of comics and graphic novels as a platform for cultural dialogue.
The alumni took part in one of the three editions of the Lingua Comica residency which were organised in Singapore (2006), London (2007) and Kyoto (2008) along with over 50 other artists from different ASEM countries. To further strengthen the ties built up since 2006, in 2009, ASEF called on all Lingua Comica participants to propose new collaborations for a spin-off: the Lingua Comica Reloaded.
The collection of five comics deals with topics from children’s games to economic crises – topics which affect everyone in an increasingly globalised, interdependent world.
1) “Numbers” by Titus Ackermann (Germany), Matei Branea (Romania), Budi Wijaya (Indonesia), and Tsuyoshi Owaga (Japan) “Numbers” compiles different stories based on abstract numbers on the theme “Economy and Society.” For more information, please visit reloadednumbers.blogspot.com.
2) “PLAY!” by Amélie Clément (France) and Rommel Joson (Philippines)”PLAY!” adopts the basic concept of children’s games as a metaphor for the boundaries between reality and imagination. For more information, please visit tiptoeoncircles.wordpress.com.
3) “Wires*” by Nele Brönner (Germany), Faezal Muniran (Malaysia), and PieR Gajewski (France)”Wires*”focuses on the impact of economic crises on society through the three artists’ points of view. For more information please visit www.4wires.net.
4) “The Salmon of Knowledge” by Tanitoc (France)”The Salmon of Knowledge” is an comics tale adapted from Indo-European mythology.
5) “BICOF journals” by Nguyen Thanh Phong (Vietnam) and Tomáš Kucerovský (Czech Republic) is a diary of their impressions of Korean Culture. ASEF invited both artists to participate in the Bucheon International Comics Festival (BICOF) in conjunction with the 10th International Cartoonist Conference (ICC) at the Korea Manhwa Museum in Seoul, Korea from 23-27 Sep 2009.