The IMISCOE Standing Committee on Families, Welfare, Care and the Life Course (FamWeLC) is hosting a webinar to mark the launch of the graphic novel, Exile & Beyond, by Gaspard Njock and Félicien de Heusch.
Presenters: Gaspard Njock (Sorbonne University) and Félicien de Heusch (University of Copenhagen).
Discussant: Alexandra Délano Alonso (New School, New York)
Date and time: Thursday 11th December, 14:00-15:30 Central European Time
Venue: via Zoom (see link below)
To attend, you must register in advance.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
About the graphic novel
Exile & Beyond was born from the encounter of two enthusiasts of both art and research, Gaspard Njock (Sorbonne University) and Félicien de Heusch (University of Copenhagen). This work delicately combines graphic poetry, field investigation, and a socio-anthropological approach to explore one of the most poignant realities of our time: deaths in migration. Unique in its form, this project creates a dialogue between drawing and research, giving voice and presence to those whom exile renders invisible.
"The tragic story of many a migrant does not end, as we might imagine, with their unmourned and unremembered death. They too have loved ones back home who long for closure through some form of remembrance and the rituals of burial and funeral practices. Unlike most artworks and literature about refugee migrations, the creators of Exile and Beyond take us through that other, often unseen journey, the journey after death when the migrant (body) continues to travel, making the reverse journey back home. This is not, of course, a joyous return but a sombre one, full of ritual and ceremony, music and mourning. Similarly, as though following this thanatic journey, we the readers journey back from the Western metropolitan centres of Brussels, Paris, Madrid and Barcelona to Douala, Kamako, Bafang and Touba. In doing so, we are reminded of the ties between the dead (migrants) and the community of the living."
-- Excerpt from the preface, by Markus Arnold and Bidisha Banerjee.