Hanyi Ma
I am an illustration student who interested in visual storytelling, time, change and the emotional relationship between people and their surroundings. My practice explores how gradual changes can be represented through sequential images with slow pace. I am particularly interested in making picture books as a space where people can slow down and experience repeatedly. Through my work, I aim to encourage people to slow down and notice the changes around them. Therefore, I call this picture book, which can be read repeatedly in a continuous cycle, a “slow book.”
Who slipped away?
The work explores the different states of fast and slow change within cyclical time through the changes experienced by two girls. Fast change completes a full cycle throughout the story, while slow change is represented by combining two states: changes that occur over a long period of time and changes that occur over a short period. The story is presented in six chapters, summarised below:
Chapter One: Meet
In spring, the human girl meets the stone girl in the park. She makes a new friend and gives the stone girl a red flower.
Chapter Two: Friend
In summer, the human girl has grown into a young adult and comes to the park to camp with her new friends. She introduces them to her old friend, the stone girl, and gives the stone girl a spark.
Chapter Three: Farewell
In autumn, the human girl is now middle-aged and her mother has passed away. She comes to the stone girl and seeks her quiet companionship.
Chapter Four: End
In winter, the human girl has grown old. She comes to the park with her beloved dog, hoping to spend the final moments of her life with the stone girl beside her.
Chapter Five: Wait
Through countless springs, summers, autumns and winters, the stone girl waits for the human girl to return.
Chapter Six: Begin
In spring, a young couple comes to the park with their little girl. When the girl sees the stone girl, she reaches out her hand. Their hands rest closely together, just as they did when they first met.
