a graphic novel by Nicolas C Grey and James Farley Exhibition at JavaArts July 9 – September 1, 2013 56 Sihanouk Blvd, Phnom Penh, Cambodia www.javaarts.org
“We are not created for any grander purpose than the ants that are there or the flies that are hovering around us or the mosquitoes that are sucking our blood.� --UG Krishnamurti
JavaArts presents an exhibition and the first public showing of the completed graphic novel “This Dog Barking – The Strange Story of UG Krishnamurti,” by Nicolas C. Grey and James Farley. The date of the exhibition opening coincides with the 95th birthday of little known anti-guru and cult figure, UGK. Grey and Farley teamed up to create a book about him starting with small anecdotes, collected materials and a few drawings. After ten years it turned into a masterpiece, more than a 150 pages long that weaves together the complicated lives UGK, his family, antagonists and followers through highly detailed drawings and storytelling.
About the book
The iconoclast and ‘anti-guru’ UG Krishnamurti’s (1918 – 2007) only advice was that people should throw away their crutches and free themselves from the stranglehold of cultural conditioning and the tyranny of thought. This Dog Barking – The Strange Story of UG Krishnaumrti chronicles the bizarre history of The Cosmic Naxalite; from his troubled childhood with the Theosophists and subsequent disillusion with many of the leading spiritual teachers of the twentieth century, to his catastrophic personal life and years of homelessness and destitution in London and Paris. In 1967 UG underwent his ‘Calamity’ – a series of biological mutations which left him in the ‘natural state’ – functioning without the interference of thought. With no fixed address, no followers and no organization UG spent the next 30 years traveling the world and giving his uncompromising message that ‘mind is a myth’ and the human condition should be demystified and depsychologized and viewed in purely physiological terms.
About the creators
Nicolas C Grey Nicolas was born in London, but grew up in Brighton on the south coast of England, and, having left both school and home at 16 is a self-taught artist. Working under the name Dead Nic in the 1990s he was involved in the underground comix scene, producing, together with Benjamin Heath, the now legendary Watermelon comic. Nic also produced stand-alone pieces during this time which were shown in the UK with the Britart agency. He works in a range of media, including collage, photography, comic art and mixed media wall sculpture. But, his signature style remains pen and ink drawings - the intricacy and psychedelic density of which never fail to fascinate audiences. Nic lives and works in Cambodia and is represented by Dana Langlois of JavaArts Phnom Penh. He has been working full time on drawing “This Dog Barking” since 2009. James Farley James was born in the UK, studied English Literature at the University of Oxford and has been a children’s social worker for the past 22 years. As an unsuccessful writer, his previous works include the never-performed stage adaptation of “The Radiance of the King” by Camara Laye, “Those Crazy Gurus” (unpublished) and “The Sand Pit”- a novel about a drug-smuggling air hostess in a Saudi Arabian prison (unfinished). James began working on the text for “This Dog Barking” in 2004, and lives with his wife and son in Cambodia.
Cover in Japanese Nicolas C. Grey Drawing (ink and color pencil on paper) 62 x 76 cm 2013
Cover in Chinese Nicolas C. Grey Drawing (ink and color pencil on paper) 56 x 72 cm 2013
UG Krishnamurti Nicolas C. Grey Drawing (ink on paper) 62 x 76 cm 2013
Following page: UG goes to Kmart Nicolas C. Grey Drawing (ink, marker and pencil on paper) 160 x 62 cm (4 panels) 2013 UG on the Bench Nicolas C. Grey Drawing (ink and color pencil on paper) 60 x 84 cm 2013
Beginning Ending Nicolas C. Grey Drawing (ink, marker and pencil on paper) 102 x 72 cm (2 panels) 2013
UG and Ramana 1 Nicolas C. Grey Drawing (ink, marker and pencil on paper) 55 x 71cm 2013
Introduction Page Nicolas C. Grey Drawing (ink, marker and pencil on paper) 53 x 69 cm 2013
The Order of the Star Nicolas C. Grey Drawing (ink, marker and pencil on paper) 52 x 75 cm 2013
“You have to be saved from the very idea of being saved. You must be saved from the saviors, redeemed from the redeemers.� --UG Krishnamurti
Society will not Change Nicolas C. Grey Drawing (ink, marker and pencil on paper) 59 x 82 cm 2013
UG in London Nicolas C. Grey Drawing (ink, marker and pencil on paper) 45 x 62 cm 2013
No Real Interest Nicolas C. Grey Drawing (ink, marker and pencil on paper) 45 x 62 cm 2013
UG Meditates Nicolas C. Grey Drawing (ink, marker and pencil on paper) 45 x 62 cm 2013
Epilogue Excerpt Nicolas C. Grey Drawing (ink, marker and pencil on paper) 109 x 83 cm (2 panels) 2013
This Dog Barking
July 9 – September 1, 2013 JavaArts 56 Sihanouk Blvd, Phnom Penh, Cambodia Open daily: 7am – 10pm www.javaarts.org www.javacafeandgallery.com
Contact
Dana Langlois, Director, JavaArts dana@javaarts.org Nicolas C. Grey, Artist deadcockroach@live.com James Farley, Writer anok4u2@hotmail.co.uk