ALBUQUERQUE — In the limited-edition risograph comic Rezbians, Carmen Selam (Yakama, Comanche) shares a solution for the scarcity of queer Indigenous representation in pop culture, of which the artist was keenly aware growing up on the Yakama Indian Reservation in Washington State.
Printed during Selam’s recent artist residency at Albuquerque community risograph studio Risolana, Rezbians incorporates various visual styles and illustrative and printing techniques to create its interior world, all with just two ink colors. (An exhibition accompanying the book launch continues at Fourteenfifteen Gallery through December 1.) Printed entirely in black and a light mauve-pink — the color she chose to add to Risolana’s permanent ink selection — on cream-colored paper, the comic transcends the visual monotony that such a design restriction could portend.
According to Selam, the two-color format was a self-issued design challenge. “Light mauve felt really nostalgic and like something I wanted to use with different textures and things. So, throughout Rezbians, I utilized light mauve with my halftones. Then, I flood a whole page with light mauve — the way it mixes with black creates this really beautiful almost optical illusion of purple,” the artist said in conversation with Hyperallergic, adding that the color “would have a strong presence mixed with the choice of the paper, which I wanted to translate into this old-school comic feel.”
The chapters within Rezbians are bookended by Selam’s tributes to subsistence and pleasure via advertisements for the fictitious Fry Bread Stand, Rez Cat Chow, and Kúpi, an Ichishkíin word for coffee. Her reworking of extant advertisement styles was informed by the role that commodity foods have played on the reservation in caring for both oneself and one’s elders.
Cultural values were also fleshed out by main character Eli’s love interest, Olivia, who visits the reservation to care for her grandmother. “Taking care of your elders was something I wanted to represent in Rezbians — that ritual of making coffee in the morning, making sure they have their cup, and then going to replenish the stock of what’s on the rez. It’s a whole venture. Going to the stores is something you plan for and spend all day doing,” Selam explained.
Selam was also intentional about avoiding common damaging or oversimplified clichés often applied to LGBTQ+ experiences and lifestyles. “It was really important to me to avoid tropes of queer people dying or a love triangle or coming out, or [the idea that] ‘you have to leave the rez to be successful.’ I really wanted to avoid those narratives and leave it very open, like there’s power in finding yourself and being with yourself.”
While Eli and Olivia’s romantic relationship does end, the overarching narrative in Rezbians is one of self-love. The closing panel finds Eli reckoning with the importance of loving themself — “I am my own love medicine” — a superpower that is amplified by community and cultural connections that ground this beautifully illustrated tale.
