Benjamin Dix and Lindsay Pollock will be at City to discuss their book Vanni: A Family’s Struggle Through the Sri Lankan Conflict (2019).
Date: Thursday 5 December 2019
Time: 6:00PM
Room: AG07b, City, University of London
The event is free but requires registration. All are welcome, and refreshments will be available.
Released 10 years after the end of the war, Vanni is a moving graphic novel that portrays the personal experiences of modern warfare, the processes of forced migration, and the struggles of seeking asylum in Europe.
Inspired by Benjamin Dix’s personal experience of working in Sri Lanka for the United Nations during the war, Vanni, named after the Tamil region of northern Sri Lanka, draws upon over four years of meticulous research – including first-hand interviews, references from official reports and cross-referencing with experts in the field.
Drawn by Lindsay Pollock with a real sense of immediacy, Vanni takes readers through the otherwise unimaginable struggles, horrors and life-changing decisions families and individuals are forced to make when caught in the cross hairs.
This event will feature a short talk about the graphic novel from authors Dr Benjamin Dix and Lindsay Pollock, followed by a Q&A.
About the speakers
Benjamin Dix is Senior Fellow at SOAS, University of London, and founder and Director of the non-profit organisation PositiveNegatives, which produces literary comics that explore complex social and humanitarian issues. He has worked across South Asia as a professional photographer and as a Communications and Liaison Manager for the United Nations. From 2004 -2008 he was based in the LTTE (Tamil Tigers)-controlled Vanni, in north Sri Lanka, throughout the post-tsunami reconstruction and subsequent civil war.
Lindsay Pollock is a Senior Artist at PositiveNegatives, where he has illustrated a number of testimonial comics. His work has appeared on the BBC, Channel 4 and in multiple languages across Europe, Asia and Africa. Vanni is his debut graphic novel.
The event is free but requires registration. All are welcome, and refreshments will be available.
This post reuses information taken from the original announcement at https://www.city.ac.uk/events/2019/december/vanni-a-familys-struggle-through-the-sri-lankan-conflict
