'Is it bad that I'm feeling weird about trying to feel good about myself?'
SELF! HELP! is a brand-new comic memoir by artist Worry Lines, featuring thoughts about the Self and how to Help it.
Spanning two books, it contains a charming mix of joy, cynicism, bemusement and hope.
It prods at self-hate and self-help with equal curiosity.
Fuelled by climate anxiety, love and potatoes, maybe it will make you feel better about feeling bad? You'll have to see for your Self.
Words on SELF! HELP!
"Self-help is everywhere. The idea that we should each individually look after and improve ourselves is embedded in the culture in a really fascinating way, and in a way which I think is worth poking at with a pen.
"What I’m thinking and feeling about in the books is a whole bouquet of self-focussed ideas. This includes self-discovery, self-care and self-hate, and how those ideas interact with bigger ideas like community care, responsibility and reciprocity.
"Stories are everything. They shape how we see the world, and I think how we see the world is increasingly important.
"When I write, I feel like it’s coming from my head, but when I draw, I feel like it’s coming from my heart. Drawing is a really accessible way to communicate emotions, and I think images can bypass the brain and head straight for the belly via the eyeball. Writing tickles the synapses and encourages new ideas to grow.
"I like what happens when drawings and words are combined on the page. The image rubs up against the text like a cat against a sofa.
"I'm horrible at maths. Untalented at sports. Too socially anxious for the workplace.
"I'm thinking about taking care of myself in the context of a rapidly escalating climate catastrophe. This led me to want to both zoom in and look at these ideas from a deeply personal perspective, and also zoom out and look at them from a more philosophical distance.
"Tonally, SELF! HELP! started as a kind of mad oscillation. Between micro and macro, humour and angst, past and future, individual and planetary, pessimism and optimism. It ended up as a delicious smoothie of all of those ingredients."
Q&A
What is your favourite book? Love by an illustrator called Vanni. It was published in the 60s, so the story has dated, but the form of the book is delightfully interactive and playful, the illustrations are so pure and expressive, and every page is a surprise. I love when books make the most of the fact that they are books.
What is your favourite quote? To be truly radical is to make hope possible, rather than despair convincing. - Raymond Williams
