Page 4: They have eyes, lips, and ears.
Artist: Yanyan Yu
Page description and purpose: I have my heart set on this page being a camouflage collage. Do you remember the game where you draw a face or person bit by bit on one piece of paper as a group, each person covering what they've drawn before they pass it on? The final reveal is a bizarre amalgamation of everyone's inner world come to life. When I was little, I loved making collages of faces using cutouts from magazines — a mishmash of features from others to create one unique being. I'm on the lookout for a collage artist whose flair fits the page and who is happy to create different features from different species, to be mixed and matched, or to create their own features of imaginary beings to be hidden throughout a double-page spread. Page four will be a collage masterclass in deconstructing "othering" because it makes diversity the essential ingredient for creating a unique and complete being. The act of mixing and matching features celebrates that identity is not a rigid, singular thing. It demonstrates that our wholeness comes from integration and transformation and that we are active participants in this practice of inclusive creation.
Welcome to All Other, Yanyan. Excited to see the playful collage you create. Rose
Yanyan is an illustrator, animator, and teddy bear lover. She studied BFA Illustration at Emily Carr University of Art + Design and MA Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art.
She has a soft spot for bright, exciting colours, and her mind is always buzzing with curious little ideas. She enjoys wandering along the edge where fantasy and reality overlap, telling everyday stories from imagined worlds and discovering moments of wonder hidden within ordinary life. Her work often reflects on identity, gently inviting both herself and her readers to explore and embrace who they are. She is especially drawn to collage art and pop-up books as a way to create playful and interactive worlds.
