Face Man

Plot

A theater critic attends an incomprehensible play. Forced to write about the it, he finds he can't remember a single detail. He attempts to ask the box office clerk to summarize the plot but instead she misunderstands him and the critic finds himself forced to view the performance a second time. While sitting in the theater, a man begins to follow him, always one step away. Slowly the critic becomes entangled with events that will force him to question his 'identity'---a problem that sets him onto a collision course with the powerful Identity Group.

Drawing in a rich, highly detailed style (rendered entirely in graphite) Clara Bessijelle creates eccentric characters dropped into lush environments. In Face Man, her longest and most ambitious story yet, we find characters that are at once personal and alien. Their actions are sharp, coldly humorous but their reasoning is often warm. Every drawing is teeming with patterns and concealed clues, like a Will Elder drawing from a forgotten era. Face Man is a stand alone work, full of strange power.