"Crown Shyness (樹冠羞避)," by Taiwanese illustrator Cho Pei-hsin(卓霈欣), was named the winner of the 11th edition of Bologna Children's Book Fair - Fundación SM International Award for Illustration in 2021. To allow the public to understand more about Cho, the Cultural Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Spain collaborated with Spain's SM Foundation to organize a lecture on Apr. 7 to speak about her new book "The Fisherman and His Soul (Spanish: El Pescador Y Su Alma)" as well as her works.
Cho was invited by the SM Foundation to create the first illustrated book of the fairytale "The Fisherman and his Soul," written by famous Irish writer Wilde, for readers aged 8 to 18.
During the lecture, Cho shared her creative process and also introduced her previous illustration works to the local audience. She said that she is honored to be invited to Madrid for the lecture and she hopes to have the opportunity to reach out to more local readers.
The Cultural Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Spain will continue to promote Taiwanese illustration works in Spain so as to allow the local audience to know more outstanding Taiwanese illustrators.
In 2012, SM Foundation also published a book titled "The Steadfast Tin Soldier (Spanish: El Soldado de Plomo)" for Taiwanese artist Page Tsou (鄒駿昇), who won the 2011 Bologna SM International Award for Illustration; this time, they are publishing "The Fisherman and His Soul" for Cho. Teresa Tellechea Mora, a representative of SM Foundation, expressed her appreciation for the rich creativity and diversity of Taiwanese illustrators.
Based in London, Cho Pei-hsin is a Taiwanese visual storyteller with a particular focus on illustration and animation. Her work is narrative-based and revolves around sentimentalism and introspection. She combines traditional and digital mediums to depict a variety of inward feelings that attempt to transcribe subtle emotions into tangible and visually tactile images. Her personal and commissioned works can be seen in many magazines, publications and international film festivals.