Jimmy Liao | Part 2

Taiwan

Jimmy Liao studied art at Chinese Culture University, and then he worked at an advertising agency and as an editorial illustrator for many years. After surviving a battle with leukaemia in the 90s, Jimmy totally devoted himself to his art, and has since created about forty picturebooks which have sold millions of copies around the world.

In his second post for the Picturebook Makers blog, Jimmy talks about creating ‘The Starry Starry Night’ – a story of sorrow and silence, courage and love. This stunning picturebook has been translated into several languages and it inspired a feature film.

Visit Jimmy Liao's website
Visit the Jimmy Liao blog

BEAUTIFUL PICTURES INSPIRE A STORY

Jimmy: One day, there was a news item: Two high school students from the south made a plan to run away from home. They jumped on a motorcycle and travelled here and there. They had fun together during the day, and slept in work sheds, schools and temples during the night.

Subsequently, their parents alerted the police, and they were caught and taken home a few days later. The parents on both sides made angry accusations at each other. The girl's parents made her undergo a medical examination and sought compensation from the boy's parents. But the children said they did not do anything wrong; they just enjoyed each other's company and visited the beach and the mountains, innocently.

When I read that news item in Taipei, I became misty-eyed. I wanted to believe that they were genuine, that all they wanted was to spend a few infinitely pure and flawless days and nights together. Would those shining, bright and crystal-like days be the most memorable times of their lives? I have never run away from home. I was foolish and timid, and this is why I wanted to let the boy and girl in my picturebook run away instead. Yes, to let them make their big escape!

That day, I went to my studio, put aside all other chores, and I started planning their escape. But where would they run to? I did not know. Let them run away first and work out the rest later.

After a month, I had created many pictures about the process of their escape. But I was forced to suspend the work. I needed to go back to the beginning and arrange everything carefully: Why did they run away? Why did they run away together? How did they get together? Were they classmates? What did their homes look like? What jobs did their parents have? How were their relationships with their parents? Under what circumstances did they decide to run away? Where did they want to run away to? What happened after their journey ended and they returned home? What means did they have to enable them to leave home?

One question led to another, which resulted in many more questions. I had no choice but to answer each question before continuing. One picture followed another and resulted in lots more pictures. One passage led to another and resulted in lots more passages.

Many years ago, the director Wong Kar-wai said to me: “A director's job is to resolve every problem.” To become a creator, one must resolve all the problems regarding one's creation.

The creative process of ‘The Starry Starry Night’ was like this: Ten pictures were produced in the first year; another ten pictures were produced in the second year. After that, the degree of difficulty gradually increased.

After much deliberation, I still could not find a way to weave a substantial narrative out of these twenty pictures and allow them to continue. I had no choice but to stop and observe, turn my attention to another book, and temporarily put aside this troubled story. I have quite a few partially completed projects that I have needed to set aside. It is inevitable that any creative process will run into difficulties. It is a ‘bottleneck’ experience; it is also a challenge.

Since creation is a challenge that you set yourself, and you would not choose to create something unless it is difficult, you can expect to encounter a bottleneck moment at any time. When I look at the many projects that I have suspended midway, I always wish to give myself another chance to face the challenge and get them completed. But when difficulties arise, sometimes the only thing you can do is stop. If you keep going and get trapped in the project, you cannot get out of the bottleneck phase no matter how hard you try to create more pictures.

At such moments, it is best to work on another project. After some time has passed and you are in a different mood or have developed a different perspective, you can look at the project again. Quite possibly, you may have accumulated new experiences or developed a revolutionary way of thinking through your work on another book. Armed with this different perspective, you are then more likely to come up with a creative solution.

I was almost into my third year of making ‘The Starry Starry Night’ when the influence of Van Gogh came up, and the works of Magritte appeared as well.

And in the fourth year, the concept of my book was formed. At the same time, I also worked on many other books. Each time I felt that I could not go on, a spring would suddenly open up and a channel would be found. And so the persona of the grandfather appeared, and the characters of the exchange students were also formed. Various elements, settings and plot points joined together to form a chain.

I looked at the book again after it was completed. While the story felt familiar and fluid, giving birth to the images and story was an extremely difficult labour. It was hard for me to explain why this seemingly simple story took so long to compose.

In hindsight, the story seems so logical that I feel as if it has always meant to be that way. After all, it has no unexpected twists and turns, nor does it have any suspense or intrigue. Reasonably speaking, it should not have been so painful and difficult to do. I guess only a creator stuck in the middle of it all can appreciate the sensation of being torn between life and death.

15 December 2015

< Back to posts

Jimmy Liao | Part 2

Taiwan

The Starry Starry Night

Jimmy Liao

Locus Publishing, Taiwan, 2009