A package arrived from the mail brought a little surprise today. It’s the medal and exhibition catalogue for being shortlisted at the Sharjah Exhibition for Children’s Book Illustrations in the Sharjah Children's Reading Festival in UAE. The festival is one of the largest, well-funded, and prestigious book and illustration mecca in the world.
Burnt receiving their Oscar, ehem, medal for best actor in a picturebook posing role.
Burnt being proud of their spread in the 2022 Sharjah Exhibition for Children's Book Illustration catalogue, featuring their story, "Pink and Blue."
No matter how the digital medium is increasingly being popular as well as becoming as an essential, I still believe that festivals and exhibition venues for physical books are still relevant and important as ever because it showcases the latest innovation and vision in the art of picturebook illustration. Competitions bring out the best in talents, raising quality standards, super win for the kids.
Pink and Blue, fired ceramic clay, found objects, set and lighting design, photography
Pink and Blue vignette (concept by yours truly)
Pink is Blue’s big little sister.
Blue is Pink’s blind baby brother.
Pink (who takes photos of Blue) couldn’t understand Blue from the outside, but she imagines him to be enjoying the world around him.
Blue couldn’t understand Pink, but he loves playing with his sister, who guides him.
Adventure awaits for the sibling’s unconventional view of the world around them.
I tried to create inanimate objects look like they're alive and moving using photography and stop motion animation techniques.
However, the downside in competitions and showcases could be the development of an homogenized style, predictably-narrowed-subjective preferences of gatekeepers, and repetition leading to the point of dullness. It’s like the Pixar “look” dominating the animated film "aesthetic," wondering whether all the other films are sequels because they have the same look and formula. This uniformity could hamper our children’s views about diversity and inclusivity when they see it around them. Aspiring illustrators vying for recognition and attention emulate the current trending style instead of pursuing their own unique vision, voice, and creativity.
The Sharjah Exhibition for Children's Book Illustrations catalogue is a print dream: full color on a gorgeous choice of paper, filled with the latest children's book illustrators' best works from all over the world.
One of my favorite works in the catalogue: Sonja Danowski, whom I met at the Sharjah Children's Reading Festival a few years back when they were one of the top winners. Their work has evolved to a more bright and colorful palette but with the same unique strokes of brush or pen.
Another favorite from the catalogue: Kyoung-Mi Ahn from South Korea. Their work exudes a numinous atmosphere making most of the medium and monochromatic palette.
The luxurious box that came with the medal and the catalogue which tells very loudly: they're very serious about children's literacy!
The children's lit illustration community has solved the problems of structure and limitations of media in creating a dynamic picturebook composition, characterization, illustrative content. Now let’s explore more of other unique styles, representation, views, and media.
