A lot of us go through life like frantic livewires, unchecked and stuck within our own patterns. It takes heartbreak, grief, loss and feeling lost before we stop and rethink who we are and what we actually want. From people pleasing to operating out of trauma or our fears, the unexamined life runs a little wild and oblivious to our needs. Like strangers to ourselves we find a great distance between who we are and who we think we are. And then begins the search for truth; the journey within. This forms the premise of New York-based artist Swayam Parekh’s graphic novella, 'Greenhouse', a tender, fantastical exploration of finding your way back home to yourself.
Greenhouse is a silent comic Illustrated with graphite and coloured pencils. Exuding a hand-drawn warmth, the story follows a young girl wandering through a forest, where she stumbles upon an igloo-like house made of green tiles. She knows, deep down, that she belongs inside. But there’s a catch: the door is triple-locked. To enter, she must retrieve three keys scattered across meaningful yet bittersweet locations—a lost friendship, a burnt-out romance, and a forgotten creative spark. The quest then is to find these keys and confront difficult truths in the process so she can finally be her true self.
Though whimsical on the surface, the comic is rooted in Swayam’s own experiences of rebuilding after loss. She explains, "I wanted to create a comic for a younger audience which talks about our relationship with our inner selves. The book is largely wordless so it can be less didactic and the reader has to make a focused effort to experience and think about it, what it means in their context and can draw their own conclusions from it. The idea of having to rebuild without clarity or closure is what inspired the concept for the book. It is loosely based on my own experiences that I wanted to talk about but in a light and slightly absurd way, using fantasy as a tool.
The artist's influences are as varied across her creative journey . Growing up, she read a lot of Amar Chitra Katha, Calvin and Hobbes, and Tintin which nudged her towards visual storytelling. Later, her move to New York introduced her to its indie comics scene, which shaped her current, more autobiographical approach. Artists like Tove Jansson, Olivier Schrauwen, Salman Toor and Beatrice Alemagna are touchstones for her — names that reflect her affinity for blending the whimsical with the introspective.
The process of creating Greenhouse was anything but straightforward. Self-doubt loomed large, often slowing her down. “I’d redo sketches over and over, which killed the momentum,” she admits. “But I’ve learned to be more intentional, to trust myself. It’s more rewarding that way.” Her creative method is as introspective as her storytelling: it begins with a feeling she’s trying to untangle, followed by freewriting, then sketching, and finally bringing the pieces together into a coherent narrative. For Swayam, drawing is a means of self-discovery. “I create to understand myself better,” she says. “To process my thoughts and tell stories with sincerity. Honestly, drawing is the only thing that truly makes me happy.”
Through Greenhouse, she invites readers to embark on their own journey inward. It’s not a neat, tidy tale with a happily-ever-after ending — it’s messy, tender, and achingly real, just like the process of rediscovering yourself. The comic allows you to get in touch with yourself through self mythology and find your own keys to the kingdom; your true self.
Follow Swayam here.
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