Séra's "The Water and The Earth" available in Khmer, Séra plans to turn Soth Polin's book "The Anarchist" into a comic book next

Excerpts from Séra's The Water and The Earth (Image: Editions du Mékong)

The Water and The Earth

Cambodge Soir
Unofficial Translation from French by Tola Ek

Click here to read Cambodge Soir’s original article in French

Cartoonist Phousera Ing, also known as “Séra,” was born in Phnom Penh in 1961. His father is Cambodian and his mother is French. His life closely follows the torn path of Cambodia: at 14-year-old, (in 1975) along with his mother, he left Cambodia which was under the Khmer Rouge control. Settled in France, Séra studied arts at the Paris-1 Sorbonne (where he is still teaching nowadays) and launched himself into drawing cartoons. He was influenced into this craft by the numerous French comic books he read during his childhood. In 1985, Futuropolis published his first album titled: Lady Mage Kane, which he collaborated with François Borderie. Later on, he published several other albums among which: HKO, Sector 7, Night lobby, Road exit, and the series The Procession followers.

His style, very realistic but also with an atmosphere close to the surreal, was put to use in a story based on his native country in the album titled: Deadlock and red, which was published in color by Casterman publishing house. The story in this book involves the civil war period which preceded the arrival of the Khmer Rouge to power. Séra crossed a new step by creating in 2005 a more ambitious volume: The water and the earth, which is directly linked to the Cambodian tragedy under Pol Pot’s dictatorship, he realized this book based on testimonials from that era. This book is currently being translated into Khmer by Mekong Publishing House, and making it available to the Cambodian general public. The upcoming album by Séra, The mornings of the ash, which comes chronologically after The water and the earth, will be published soon, and will complete this “trilogy” on the Cambodian conflict, which most likely constitutes the most personal work by the author, and also, the most difficult to conceive… Following these dark hours of Cambodia, Séra is thinking about other projects linked to Cambodia, and he plans to turn into a cartoon, The Anarchist, a story by writer Soth Polin, as well as an intimate story about his childhood in Phnom Penh. Being also a sculptor and a painter, Séra often visits his native country. In April, he was involved with a workshop for young local cartoonists, and their collective work will be published in a book soon.

Where to buy Séra book The water and the earth:

Mekong Publishing House,
No 26CD, Road 302
Phnom Penh

Or order directly at: administration@cambodgesoir.info

This book is also available at the Carnets d’Asie Bookstore located at the French Cultural Center in Phnom Penh, and the Carnets d’Asie Bookstore in Siem Reap.

Click here for additional information on Séra's workshop in Cambodia