[REVIEW] ARTBOOK: FREE CICADAS & POEMS BY ENO.
TITLE: 空蝉与诗 （Free Cicadas & Poems)
ILLUSTRATOR: ENO.
RELEASE DATE: 05/01/2011
PRICE: 48 RMB
PAGES: 103
FORMATE: 25.8 x 23.2 x 1.8 cm; hard cover
SPECIAL: poster
ISBN: 9787531829096
PREVIEW: amazon
Overall Rating: 3.6/5
art: 4/5
content: 2/5
layout/packaging: 5/5
Eno is one of the main reasons why I got interested in Chinese artists. Her first artbook reminded a the part of my native cultural heritage that I had long forgotten. She opened my eyes to the beauty of traditional watercolors styles. Since then, I had always tried to find that same feeling in her later published books. But sadly, I was never able to find that moment of nostalgia and aspiration again.
This is Eno’s 3rd, official artbook; her first hard cover.
The artbook contained roughly 48 images and a 20 page color one shot.
The packaging is beautiful. The paper quality is fair. The layout is filled with (almost) full-2-page illustrations. But it lacked content.
The first image in the book opens up with a beautiful long shot of a beach and a girl that had just arrived at the scene. I was curious as to her story, but what followed were just a string of unconnected pretty images that revealed a glimpse into the lives of these school girls and boys. They're like the free cicadas in the summer, always prominent with their presence.
Then for 20 pages, it collected her full color oneshot, Blue Bird. A story adapted from a novel.
The rest are some bl themed work. I mentioned in a post that it's no point in getting her Bl artbook because they're just going to reprint those images in her future artbook, well, what do you know, that's what they did here.
The majorities images were from 2006-2009. Less than 10 images are from 2010-2011. Only 5 pieces were free style work, the rest are novel illust. Even though there were a few images that caught my eye, they weren't memorable. I wanted a story, a journey, but it failed to deliver the second part of this promising title; poems.
Of all the images, this one was my favorite. The simplicity instantly grabbed my attention because even though there's so much emptiness around them, their deep gaze for each other and their body language fills the void with a variety of unspoken narratives and emotions.
