Judge's comments:

Successfully conveyed the concept of the heaviness of a parent’s expectations. The publication communicated complex issues through graphic articulation, and successfully translated emotions onto the reader. Dream-like and ethereal, this project demonstrated an illustrator who is in command of their craft.

Description:

Ghost Talk is a picture book that utilises a Chinese Zhiguai style of narration as means to discuss Chinese parental expectations. The story tells of a fantastical journey of reminiscence between a young girl and ghosts in a spiritually connected dream world, prompting her to reconsider the reasons behind her fading pursuit of self-wishes.

This project contributes to knowledge by addressing Chinese cultural and social perspectives within family relationships and education systems. Secondly, it provides a creative consideration of a tradition of the Chinese Zhiguai genre of storytelling that blends fantasy and realism. The constructed Ghost Talk story demonstrates the potential of using metaphors to discuss complex cultural and social perspectives and to evoke resonance among individuals with similar experiences. In addition, the story emphasizes the humanized aspect of Zhiguai ghosts; it delves into symbolic interpretations of the human psyche and emotional activities through the communication of ghosts and humans. The book also explores the power of illustration and metaphor to discuss complex issues as an attempt to incorporate cultural elements such as ancient Chinese poetry, allusions, and traditional attire to adorn the graphic narrative stage set in China.

In the process of analysing myself and studying the historical context behind Chinese parental expectations, I came to understand the Chinese parents' concept of "loving their children and planning for their future." I realised that my goal is not to rebel against my parents but to find a way to preserve my desires. Through Ghost Talk, I reflected on my memories, fragmenting myself into characters from different periods of my life and cultural background with varying perspectives. I shifted angles between ghosts to observe my growth and my questioning under parental expectations. By means of the metaphorical enactment of these characters, I staged an internal debate within myself and eventually found an answer: even if I cannot change the environment, I still understand my family while not giving up on myself wishes, thus no longer feeling lost. I'm inspired by the Eastern Jin (367-427) hermit Tao Yuanming's thought "心远地自偏, " meaning "I remain undisturbed by my surroundings because my soul is far from the noise". In doing so, I hope my story will strike a chord with those who have undergone similar situations in their life.