Morbid Beauty in Comic Art

We’re entering the Summer months with a bang here at BLACKLANDS.
Sometimes, after immersing yourself in complicated, subtle, philosophical fine art, you just want to look at stuff that scratches the itchy part of your brain that enjoys dynamic, wild, weird, cool things. This month’s artist is a local rockstar, who wants to keep her real name a secret, and goes by the pseudonym Dahmu.mu. If you’re not into monsters and gore, insectoid people and provocative nudity, this is probably not for you. If you are, let’s dive in!

Comic book art is not usually a genre that’s explored much in the fine art world. Like many other kinds of artworks that are made for utilitarian purposes, such as illustrating a story, concept art for films or images conveying political messages, it has historically been considered “low brow”. That’s a derogatory word for art that’s uncultivated or unsophisticated, and which intellectual and established cultural institutions look down upon.

However, some argue that origins of comic art go as far back as the Lascaux cave paintings in prehistory. Telling a story via pictures is, after all, one of the fundamental reasons for drawing them in the first place. Comics and cartoon strips in Europe originated some time in Italy in the 17^th century and they became a mass medium in the 20^th century as newspapers and magazines began printing them. In Japan, they can be traced back to the 12^th century.

And then, there’s the gore. Blood, guts, organs, cancerous pieces, nightmarish, humongous insects juxtaposed against ethereal, hyperfeminine nudity. It is all so extreme. These ladies are beastly, grotesque, but so enjoyable to look at. People are tangled in strange, living forests, half-eaten by parasites, or in the process of devouring something themselves.
Even without the typical speech bubbles that accompany comic art, these pictures tell a story that makes you curious. Each image looks like a scene from a film or a book. You wonder what comes before and after the image, your mind weaving tales.

Originally from the Philippines, Dahmu.mu lives and works in Copenhagen. She took art school courses, evening art courses and attended the internationally acclaimed The Animation Workshop university in Viborg for a while.

She lists artists like the Polish painter and photographer Zdzisław Beksiński, the French artist and cartoonist Jean Giraud (better known as Moebius), the mastermind behind the biomchanical horror world of the film Alien, H.R.Giger, and Japanese manga artist Tsutomu Nihei among her strongest sources of inspiration. You can see the influences from each of these artists, but Dahmu.mu manages to create her own closed universe with her works, in her own style. Particularly, the multiplication of limbs and insect-like characters seem to be a persisting fascination. She uses many tools: ink, crayons, alcohol markers, colour pencils, fineliners, watercolor, as well as painting in digital apps. The results are always catchy and full of power, immediately grabbing your attention.

Enjoy this fun treat of a selection from Dahmu.mu’s morbid universe, and dive into the artist’s work in her own words below.

I have specifics I’d like to improve on, like classical realism, focusing very intently on anatomy and getting really good at light values and contrasting. I have sometimes thought of starting all over again and going back to these basics. At the moment I am trying to learn how to do colouring.

Over the time I have learnt to let go of works, in that way. The only attachments I have to them is that I left a moment of my time and effort on a piece of paper.

Yes, as far as comics go, it’s mostly Japanese and French comics, think BLAME! or Moebius. More recently I have leaned more into horror and surreal indie horror games. I have been collecting art book of games and monster sculptures, which are based on Super Sentai – Power Ranger-like characters. If I had the time I would go back to sculpting monster girls again.

I would really like to elaborate on old comics I made, and doodled, when I was 13. I would love to see them realized as several volumes of full length comic books. I could also spend hours and hours returning to making my mature themed sculptures.

I use black for the contrast it can achieve, along with the waves of fine details possible; it helps keeping the eyes busy.

I call it a form of morbid curiosity; to see and hear a strangers personal reaction to art, especially my own, really fascinates me. Art is the sense that every individual carry in their core.