Ministry of Culture-Performance Venues & Architectural Heritage

“Crown Shyness (樹冠羞避),” by Taiwanese illustrator Cho Pei-hsin(卓霈欣) was named winner of the 11th edition of Bologna Children’s Book Fair - Fundación SM International Award for Illustration.

Cho was picked from the under-35 illustrators selected for the fair’s annual illustrators exhibition, which this year attracted 3235 submissions from 68 different countries.

Inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic, Cho created “Crown Shyness” using graphite as the medium to express her observation. In her work, she portrays the phenomenon that she observed during her time in Berlin – clusters of the same tree species form a canopy with river-like gaps, which reminded her of the new normal of social distancing.

In a statement, the jury stated that Cho, as a young illustrator, shows great promise in her ability to visually explore and record shapes and sensations in surprising ways, inviting the eye to dwell on the world she outlines, onto which she opens up the vision of viewers. They added that Cho was chosen as the winner because of the strength she conveys in her style, and her intensely-layered sense of space and page.

Culture Minister Lee Yung-te offered his congratulations and pointed out that Taiwanese works have garnered worldwide recognition. In addition to Cho’s “Crown Shyness,” Lin Lian-en’s (林廉恩) “Home” and Animo Chen’s (阿尼默)“Love Letter (情批)” have also received the prestigious Bologna Ragazzi Award this year.

These works feature the prominent characteristics of Taiwanese works, highlight Taiwan’s rich natural environment, and portray the relationship between people, Lee added.

Based in London, Cho is a Taiwanese visual storyteller with a particular focus on illustration and animation. After graduating from the Animation Department at Taipei National University of the Arts, she obtained MA in Visual Communication/Illustration at Royal College of Art.