Refu(SAL/SE/GE) - A Webcomic
Since March 26, 2022![Opening scene from my webcomic Refu(SE/SL/GE), showing a slightly neurotic and psychedelic self-portrait, subtitled: 'In which I am moulded into a defective product for the marketplace of human labour](https://forest-of-mind.imgix.net/illustration-portfolio/portfolio/2022-03-26-rrr-ep-01-01.png?ixlib=gatsbySourceUrl-2.1.3&auto=format&w=900&h=1644)
Refu(SAL/SE/GE) tells the story of a bildungsroman marked by refusal, refuse, and the seeking of refuge. I created this semi-autobiographical webcomic as a sense-making, carthartic, and celebratory endeavour.
Themes covered include the critique of neoliberal capitalist ideology, as it manifests itself in the institution of the university and the phenomenon of modern-day spirituality; critique of the modern world's techno-pragmatic, techno-utopian zeitgeist (very much undergirded by neoliberal, capitalist, and colonial/post-colonial institutions); critique of the general inaction and delusional belief in the "myth of progress" and "economic growth" in the face of impending climate catastrophe; struggles to find a way to make a difference as a subject very much moulded by dominant systems of oppression and domination; and finally, composting, growing plants, and regenerating the soil.
Interwoven amongst all that heavy stuff is, as always, a good dose of humour.
This webcomic was published as part of a critical online journal that refuses dominant and default narratives, and celebrates stories and forms of knowing that have been trashed and neglected.
Artworks
![Jun Qi - Art & Illustration](/static/d9ffa31449e301aa4446dcd759a59683/2e8cd/main-graphic.png)