The 2021 Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators Competition Award has found its winners. The Jury, composed Debbie Bibo (USA/Italy), Huang Li (China), Ken Niimura (Spain/Japan), Martin Salisbury (UK), and Zhu Ziqiang (China) was reunited for a final round evaluation which took place on 17 November and was exceptionally held online to address the current COVID situation.
This last meeting culminated a five months judging process, which brought the 2,426 entries submitted in the 2021 competitions down to 50 finalists announced in September of this year. It is among the finalists that the Jury choose the below mentioned winners.
The Golden Pinwheel Jury and Organising Committee are honoured to make the results of the Competition public through a video message.
Yu Chongjing (China, 1989) wins the Golden Pinwheel Grand Award (China). Anna & Varvara Kendel (Russia, 1992) win the Golden Pinwheel Grand Award (International). Finally, the three Golden Pinwheel Special Mentions go to Diane Li (China, 1992), Alexandra Mirzac (Romania, 1988) and Roozeboos (Netherlands, 1994).
Golden Pinwheel Grand Award (China)
Yu Chongjing (China): A Mei's Cake Shop
Jury's comments:
In Yu Chongjing’s "A Mei’s Cake Shop" there is a sense of immediate connection and empathy that the Jury responded to. The jurors perceived the artist’s care and attention reflected in the tender loving care that A Mei and A Wen put into making and delivering cakes. The delightful colour palette, delicious details, and true-to-life characters form a compelling visual narrative that is fresh and authentic, leaving the viewer to want to see more!
Golden Pinwheel Grand Award (International)
Anna & Varvara Kendel (Russia) : My Childhood in Siberia
Jury's comments:
“My Childhood in Siberia” combines the profound tone of Russia’s pictorial tradition with a heartfelt visual expression of childhood. Each illustration looks back on a childhood spent in the remote Siberian countryside and sets a singularly poetic mood made of sorrow, quietness, and warmth. The images offer the viewer a distinctive and unique aesthetic feeling of the Siberian landscape.
Golden Pinwheel Special Mention
Diane Li (China): The Giant's Garden
Jury's comments:
Diane Li's "Selfish Giant" is a beautiful rendition of the original tale. We've fallen in love with the strength and playfulness of the images, from their impeccable composition, that plays with different sizes and shapes, to the coloring and textures. The result is a series of illustrations of an incredible beauty, while also being aesthetically very satisfying. Thank you for creating them, and we can't wait to see what's next!
Golden Pinwheel Special Mention
Roozeboos (Netherlands): Choices
Jury's comments:
The series “Choices” outstands for its clever and rich graphic compositions and its brisk narrative rhythm. The characters brim with liveliness. In spite of their apparent roughness, each of them reflects subtle emotions, and the artist uses light and humorous strokes and bright colours to portray a joyful atmosphere in a children's playground. We admired the way the artist cleverly uses ordinary children's games to tell a philosophical story. Through their simple and clear expression, the illustrations help children understand the abstract concept of 'choice' while triggering their thoughts and resonating with their own experience.
Golden Pinwheel Special Mention
Alexandra Mirzac (Romania): Lost
Jury's comments:
Mîrzac's beautifully crafted illustrations tell the story of a cat who felt 'invisible' in a home where the owners are preoccupied with other matters. The cat's nocturnal journey into the metropolis in search of attention is described through three carefully layered flat colours, augmented by patches of hand-drawn line. The jury loved the craft skills and exploitation of scale to create visual drama and pathos in this tender visual narrative.
Golden Pinwheel People's Choice Award
In parallel, an online vote ran from 9 to 21 November so as to elect the People's Choice Award winner. Zong Minghao (China, 1992) wins the award with 15.37% of the 12,435 votes.
Golden Pinwheel Astra Award
Additionally, the newly created Golden Pinwheel Astra Award is also announcing its first laureate today. An independent jury appointed by the sponsors of the Astra International Picture Book Writing Contest, and composed of Leonard S. Marcus (USA), Michael Neugebauer (Germany), Maria Russo (USA), and Xin Li (China), selected Yuliya Gwilym (Ukraine,1987) among the 50 Golden Pinwheel finalists as the first Golden Pinwheel Astra award winner.
Yuliya Gwilym (Ukraine): What the Moon Told Me
Astra Jury’s comments:
Yuliya Gwilyn's illustration work is narrative; it is colorful and joyous, elegant and captivating; her brushstrokes are simple yet dynamic; she adeptly combines various mediums, creating a unique grain and texture; her overall composition is free of any rules, just like the unconfined and radiant world in our children's minds.
All the winners’ and finalists' artwork will be showcased at the Golden Pinwheel Illustration Exhibition, due to take place at the Shanghai International Children’s Book Fair from 20 to 22 March. Meanwhile, the Golden Pinwheel Online Gallery remains accessible on the competition's official website.
