Dawn Wing '05 tackles 'autobiofictionalography' in her comic book series “What you Left Behind”
Excerpt of “Work is :) ” comic from the zine What it is. Dawn Wing. 2012
By Shirley Palomino ‘10, Arts Editor
In her long standing comic book series “What you left behind,” Dawn draws upon her own life experiences growing up in the New York borough of Queens to bring her lead character, Janie, to life. In the series, set mostly in the 90s, Janie confronts childhood with a sweet, deeply reflective sensibility well beyond her years.
At home, Janie’s grandparents,Yeh Yeh and Mah Mah often fulfill the role of caregivers and cultural transmitters. There are touching moments between Janie and her grandparents, particularly when they grow ill and she looks after them. But Janie’s family life isn’t perfect. When Janie is little and makes a mistake, she’s punished severely and physically, and when she’s older, the confrontations with her parents are loud and explosive and weigh heavily on Janie long after they’re over.
In addition to working on her comic book series, Dawn makes zines. She belongs to a strong community of underground artists utilizing the web and conventions to keep paper based zines alive. During the day, Dawn works as a college librarian in New York.
Check out my image heavy Q & A with Dawn.
How did you get started making zines and comics?
The first zine I ever made was actually at Wellesley in 2005 although I didn't realize that's what it was at the time. I was taking an art seminar called "Art and Travel" with Phyllis McGibbon and a project she had us do was create objects that would travel to different places and have their own life. I was curious about travelers' experiences through security at airports and whether they felt discriminated against because of their race or gender (this was post-9/11). So, I conducted an online survey on-campus about this and sent it to some friends outside of school.
I compiled all the responses I got and juxtaposed them with images of airport security rituals and 19th century French phrenology photos into a booklet entitled "Lonelier Planet." I made 50 copies and distributed them at various bookstores or left in public places. One of those bookstores was "Million Year Picnic" in Cambridge which sells comics and zines.
Excerpt from the zine “What it is.” Dawn Wing. 2012.
The owner, Tony (who's awesome and still there), bought some copies and I was so psyched! It was there I would credit my discovery of independent comics since they sell ALL types of comics/graphic novels. The first comic book I bought ever and from there was Paul Hornshemeier's "Mother Come Home." Also, a talk by the ingenious illustrator/author Phoebe Gloeckner ("Diary of a Teenage Girl") did a talk at Wellesley; and reading her book blew my mind. Her work revealed how telling some hard truths sometimes can only be carried by both words and image together. This was also in 2005.
Since then, I was inspired and continue to create visual stories which I self-publish and share with others through my Tumblr and at local zines/comics festivals across the United States. Through the internet, I also became a member of the zinester community,http://wemakezines.org, where I connected with other do-it-yourself artists and traded work with folks there.
Excerpt from “Library Monitor, Part 2” from the ongoing series What You Left Behind. Dawn Wing
What do you enjoy about the process?
For me, the creative process is all about play and allowing myself to be spontaneous. To let go of expectations of a 'perfect' product. To be surprised by how lines, words and images come together to create a unique melody that can only come out in that way, in that given moment. To listen to my characters or a scene and to really be in their world I am creating. To feel the emotions that come out while I'm writing/drawing. It's like dancing by myself but on paper. It's like getting into the grove during a jazz session.
Excerpt from “Janie’s Summer” part of the What you left behind series. Dawn Wing.
Right now, what excites me tremendously is making little mini-comics and placing copies of them into books at the library for random people to discover. It's sort of guerilla art - like I'm planting my creative seeds into unknown soil and hopefully it'll grow into a life of its own whether it's in the form of more creativity or inspiration where the reader might become more open to the world and willing to learn something new. The last time I did this was after the Portland Comics Festival in Maine where I spent two days making a mini-comic about lobsters, made copies of it and slipped them into books - all of which I did at the Portland Public Library. Cool place, go visit if you can! I hope to do more of this again soon.
What challenges have you encountered along the way?
Working full-time and sticking to a schedule where I can regularly focus on comics, collaging, writing - anything personally creative - has been tough. I suppose it's a matter of developing discipline. But I'm also trying not to be too hard on myself and to remember to do what matters to me with compassion and love instead of self-imposed pressure and guilt.
I've had a lot of life transitions since graduating from Wellesley; I've spent a lot of time and energy figuring out how to survive, how to support myself financially and emotionally - I am still working on living a balanced life and making sure I take care of myself fully. And part of that is to be creative in all that I do whether it's continuing my comics series "What You Left Behind" based on my childhood, taking an animation class, experimenting with collage, cooking a meal for friends, swimming, doing yoga, walking in nature or just dancing alone at home. I do these things because they nourish my spirit and soul.
But I do also enjoy and find creative fulfillment at my day job as a librarian. I find ways to be creative in my teaching and other responsibilities that require me to engage with a lot of different people. As long as I'm always learning about the world and myself while connecting to it, I feel grounded. I have to remind myself of that sometimes instead of getting too carried away with trivial worldly matters.
As I was reading "What you left behind" I got the sense I was reading something very authentic. I also grew up in an immigrant household and some things immediately resonated with me. For instance, there's one point where Janie goes exploring in her grandfather Yeh Yeh's room. She’s looking at old black and white photographs of relatives. Then she looks over at Yeh Yeh, who is on the bed listening to old Chinese opera music and Janie thinks to herself that the music sounds like cats and dogs. Did you draw upon your own life to create the comics?
Excerpt from “Somewhere Else” from the series What you left behind. Dawn Wing
Wow. Thanks so much for sharing your experience of reading that story - it really means alot to me that it resonated with you. Yes, the characters in that and other stories are similar to friends and family from my childhood. Janie is an observant kid who found solace in those slice of life moments where she could just be with the world around her, be curious, be playful and be herself without caution or fear. And I was like that as a kid, too. So, again, I'm glad that kind of authenticity of a moment came across to you! How magical and amazing!
Some stories in “What you Left Behind” revolve around moments of explosive confrontation between Janie and her parents. In those moments, it could appear to a reader that Janie’s parents react badly, perhaps even abusively. How do you address family conflict in your stories?
I'm very lucky to be in the company of great artists/authors like Phoebe Gloeckner ("Diary of a Teenage Girl"), Lynda Barry ("One Hundred and One Demons," "Cruddy"), Alison Bechdel ("Fun Home") and Jeanette Winterson ("Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal?") who have paved their own creative ways in sharing their dysfunctional upbringing by less-than-ideal parents. Because society discourages and represses any kind of real discussion and reflection about the dark aspects of family life, art is a realm of freedom for me since it allows me to explore this theme through 'autobiofictionalography' (term coined by Lynda Barry).
Excerpt from “Fallen Spaghetti” from the series What you left behind. Dawn Wing
It's tough already for children (young and adult alike) to try to make sense out of the trauma they've experienced, especially if it was caused by their parents and/or other relatives. So, it's doubly hard when there's no room in society to even talk about it in an honest way without feeling shame, guilt, anger, sadness or acting out in self-destructive ways. Art offers a way for folks who've gone through lots of shit in their lives to really process these personal issues, or social problems in general, that can be healing, revealing and liberating.And that's why we as a society should place more value on making the time and space to play, create art, dance, or just be creative however we'd like! It nourishes the soul!
Excerpt from “June 1998 Telescope” from the comic book series What you left behind. Dawn Wing.
Excerpt from Calling Home: Part 1 from the series What you left Behind. Dawn Wing.
What’s in store for the future?
I have no idea. Does anyone? :)
I guess just trying to let myself just be. Keep being honest with myself as much as possible, letting creativity flow and take me wherever it goes. And taking it a day at a time.
See Dawn Wing’s work at http://dwingcomics.tumblr.com/
You may also purchase her work at https://www.etsy.com/shop/DWINGComics
