[法]剋裏斯多夫•夏布特（Christophe Chabouté），《燈塔》《生火》《白鯨記》等暢銷圖像小說的作者，1967年生於阿爾薩斯地區，先後就讀於米盧斯美術學院、安古蘭美術學院和斯特拉斯堡美術學院，因擅長改編文學名著，描繪復雜細膩的人性，被業界譽為“漫畫傢中的詩人”。作品曾獲1999年安古蘭國際漫畫節“阿爾法藝術大奬”、2002年安古蘭國際漫畫節“評委特彆奬”、2006年RTL廣播電颱漫畫大奬、2008年科涅剋藝術節“蕞佳單冊漫畫奬”等眾多奬項。

With his masterful illustration style, bestselling French creator-storyteller Chabouté (Alone, Moby-Dick) explores community through a common, often ignored object: the park bench.

From its creation, to its witness to the fresh ardor of lovers, the drudgery of businessmen, the various hopes of the many who enter its orbit, the park bench weathers all seasons. Strangers meet at it for the first time. Paramours carve their initials into it. Old friends sit and chat upon it for hours. Others ignore the bench, or (attempt to) sleep on it at night, or simply anchor themselves on it and absorb the ebb and flow of the area and its people.

Christophe Chabouté’s mastery of the visual medium turns this simple object into a thought-provoking and gorgeously wrought meditation on time, desire, and the life of communities all across the planet. This could be a bench in my hometown or yours—the people in this little drama are very much those we already recognize.