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12 Feature THE PHNOM PENH POST 7DAYS FEB 04 - 10, 2011
Sarah Macklin
ASHRINK would probably enjoy
probing the darker corners o
Patrick Samnang Meys mind. De-
cay, debauchery and divorce loom
large in the black and white A3-size illustra-
tions pinned neatly to the artists wall the
storyboard or his three-part graphic novel.
Living in Cambodia was the catalyst or Mey
to sel-publish his rst instalment in Phnom
Penh. Called Eugnie, the story is inspired by Os-
car Wildes only published novel, The Picture of
Dorian Gray. This tells o a young man whose
portrait ages mysteriously while he remains or-
ever young, mourning his cast-aside lover Sybille
and exploring the darker corners o hedonistic
pleasure by indulging in drink and drugs.
My central character is called Orian, in a
reerence to Dorian Gray, says Mey, an engag-
ingly earnest 31-year-old who grew up in
France to Sino-Cambodian parents. The story
begins with his divorce, so he starts out a nice
guy who starts to question his moral qualities.
As the graphic novel opens, the style is quite
bright but as the story gets darker, it begins to
refect Orians change rom being an idealistic
young lover, he explains.
The story starts in France with Orian seem-
ingly struggling to orget his ormer wie
Eugnie, a Sino-French Shanghainese girl
whom he met while in high school.
Taking his best riends advice, he ollows
Oscar Wildes motto (a happy man is always
good, but a good man is not always happy)
and tries to start lie anew by giving up his old
moral values. He then yields to a lie o pleas-
ure, hoping it will help him to orget his past.
But as he sinks into moral degeneration,
his childhood memories and his happiness
with Eugnie become more and more oppress-
ing, says Mey.
Several o his rames use watercolour to de-
pict Orians dreams when he remembers his ex-
wie Eugnie, lightening the lines and palette.
Its clear that Mey is an accomplished illustra-
tor, with many o his compositions paying hom-
age to artists such as Gustav Klimt and Japanese
manga icon Jiro Taniguchi who worked on
Quartier Lointain. He cites other infuences such
as Art Spiegelman oMaus:A Survivors Tale the
only graphic novel to have won a Pulitzer Prize.
Telling the story o Spiegelmans ather, a Polish
Jew who survived the holocaust, the book de-
picts Jews as mice and Germans as cats.
Japanese artists Masami Kurumada and Shin-
go Araki also infamed his passion or drawing
with their work on Saint Seiya, a manga series
ollowing ve mystical warriors against a back-
ground o Greek myths and legends.
Look closely at his own drawings and youll
see a amiliar pose here, or paintings on a wall
displaying the imprint o Meys artistic heroes.
The Greek myth o Orpheus and his love or
Eurydice also orms part o his dark vision in
Eugnie in contrast to Meys warmth in person.
His ace becomes animated as he shows the
care in drating the storyboard or all three parts.
Look, heres the bar in Lille where they meet, he
A portrait of the artist
Further reading: bdeuginie.kazeo.com,
facebook.com/pages/Bande-dessinee-Eugenie/124928557535477
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13FeatureFEB 04 - 10, 2011 7DAYS THE PHNOM PENH POST
says, showing a photograph on his laptop, then
bringing up the image he later drew or his novel.
And here, this kiss has the same composition as
Klimts paintingThe Kiss my work is in tribute
to the cartoonists, artists and novelists who
inspired me.
The book has taken about six years o work,
Mey estimates. Each page takes between 10 and
20 hours to draw.
Mey explains how the book came to ruition.
Last year I came across my very rst watercol-
our o Eugnie. The vividness o the main colours
blue, green and yellow could barely hide the
technical faws and the immaturity o the stroke.
At the bottom let, near my signature, the year o
execution could be read: 2005.
I could still see mysel as a student. Sitting on
the foor o my little studio in Lille, a pencil in my
hand, I was writing down the broad outlines o
what was to become my rst graphic novel.
My various memories then fooded my mind:
the purring o a train in Thailand, a morning in
my bedroom in Runion Island, an aternoon ly-
ing on a deckchair in Sihanoukville, my sleepless
nights in Shanghai.
For about ve years, any time, anywhere, eve-
ry single relevant idea [the scenes, the raming,
the light, the dialogue] were memorised, gath-
ered and nally organised into a storyboard.
During that time, Mey has lived and worked as
a teacher in several countries, including China,
England, Runion Island and now Cambodia.
Ater teaching English at Lyce Ren Descartes in
Phnom Penh, he decided to quit the day job and
live on his savings or two years while nishing
work ull-time on Eugnie.
I I keep drawing like a crazy person, I might
nish by Christmas this year, says Mey. Last
Christmas, I was drawing all day and updating
the website Ive hardly seen any o my riends.
But I hope to release the second volume in Sep-
tember, i all goes well.
Mey is launching the rst instalment o his
270-page magnum opus with an exhibition o
his work at Meta House on February 18. He says
that next hes hoping to translate the graphic
novel into English. Having printed just 500 cop-
ies, Mey hopes to sell them at $12 during the
launch period.
Its denitely not a money-making venture,
he smiles. But I wanted to keep the price aord-
able. This should just cover the printing costs.
The book symbolises the ullment o a youth-
ul dream, he says. Which, in a twist o ate, hap-
pens in this little Southeast Asian country where
my parents were born and raised Cambodia.
Despite similarities between the central char-
acter o Orian and the artist, Mey insists the book
is not entirely autobiographical, while conceding
that his parents divorce did impact his lie.
In volume one, Orian recalls his holidays in
Cambodia while in volume three, he travels again
to the Kingdom.
Several o these rames will be seen at the Meta
House exhibition, along with several drawings
and paintings rom chapter two and our, show-
ing Orian and Eugnie and scenes in Cambodia.
The exhibition and book launch take place on
Friday February 18 at Meta House.
Wildean references and lost weekend angst permeate a new
graphic novel which will be released in Cambodia this month
