Sarnath Banerjee

Sarnath Banerjee, born in Kolkata in 1972, is one of India’s most successful graphic novelists. However, one cannot pin him down to this profession. He studied biochemistry in Delhi and visual communication at Goldsmiths College, University of London. He has worked for a while as scriptwriter, for a while as illustrator and always as storyteller. In short, autofictional episodes, he portrais daily life in India in the midst of mythology and popular culture. He is currently interested in new ways of science communication. Collaboration with scientists has resulted in radio comics, picture books, visual essays and theatrical lectures dealing with economic issues, an exploration of the spectral and otherworldly.

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For me, the difference between travel photography and travel drawing is...
"… that the neighbourhood becomes part of me while I draw. I am particularly fascinated by the uncanny in these places, and this is represented differently in drawings than it is in photography."

When I draw...
"… I slow down and share an intimate moment with the object of my drawing. The place becomes part of me."

Inspirations on my ‘travels’ have been, above all...
"… other travellers and explorers (from the Middle Ages, from Persia, Marco Polo) and, of course, other authors like Céline, Gustave Doré, William Hogarth, Moebius and Tardi."

I would still like to travel...
"... capture the vastness of Mongolia and the steppelands of Iran in words and images. "

My reading for my next trip will include...
"... Chinese novels from the turn of the century and non-fiction for children."

... at Graphic Travelogues

Enchanted Geography