Xu Ying: 'The Mountain' (Department of Visual Communication)

Due to constraints posed by COVID-19 and actual local conditions, people in the city are like birds trapped in brick cages, unable to get out physically and unable to let their minds fly. 

But for Xu Ying, it was an opportunity to find inspiration. Her works are created with illustrations that form a picture book, hoping to guide people to experience a "tour" of a fictional "mountain," obtain spiritual and natural enjoyment, and escape the pressures of reality.

"She extracts the composition and visual features from Chinese traditional landscape paintings and transforms them into the language of contemporary illustrations, injecting traditional Chinese aesthetics into her works, " said her mentor Yuan Bo, an associate professor at AADTHU. "'The Mountain' is specially and uniquely designed and provides an immersive reading experience. The theme also conveys the author's concern for the era and her humanity."