The world’s major fair of children’s books previously granted Iwona Chmielewska a special mention in 2011, in the non-fiction category, for her illustrations in A House of the Mind: Maum written by Kim Hee-Kyoung, and also published by the Changbi company.
Iwona Chmielewska’s latest book presents an entirely new approach to book illustration, as its subject is the very act of seeing and the interpretative process that gives rise to meanings. The jury underscores this in their verdict:
In Eyes by Iwona Chmielewska, the reader is regaled with a vast array of objects from which to choose. He accepts awe as a corollary of knowledge and is compelled to continue the search. We are offered details, snippets, glimpses of lived experience, objects and animals; but never are we given the visual code that binds them together. This forces reflection, obliges mediation, prompts comparisons and similarities. But especially it creates an indissoluble bond between what we see and how we understand, between the astonishment at learning to see in a new way and the contentment of knowing. It is a very novel book, infused with a refined elegance forged by much courageous experiment and reflection. It is also a luminously hopeful book in which our capacity for sight is a way to the soul and to a new, deeper, more intense humanitas.
The Bologna Children’s Book Fair is the most important international event dedicated to the children’s publishing and multimedia industry. Authors, illustrators, literary agents, licensors and licensees, packagers, distributors, printers, booksellers, and librarians meet to sell and buy copyright, find the very best of children’s publishing and multimedia production, generate and gather new contacts while strengthening professional relationships, discover new business opportunities, discuss and debate the latest sector trends
Poland's presence at the event draws more and more attention, as authors and publishers offer innovative takes on the country's rich tradition of storytelling and illustration. The past years’ editions of the Bologna Ragazzi competition have seen a regular Polish winner in at least one award category. In 2011, apart from Chmielewska's award for A House of the Mind: Maum, the young duo, Aleksandra and Daniel Mizieliński received a special mention in the fiction category for their Co z ciebie wyrośnie? (What Will Become of You?) book, and the Opera Prima category recognised Słoniątko (Little Elephant), with the text from Adam Jaromir and illustrations by Gabriela Cichowska. In 2012, Wszystko Gra / All's Play, written by Anna Czerwińska-Rydel and boldly illustrated by Marta Ignerska won as Best Nonficion book.
Born in 1960, Iwona Chmielewska is an acclaimed illustrator both in Poland and abroad. In the 1990s she mainly illustrated poetry publications and simultaneously began to create her own children’s books. In 2007, she was presented with the Golden Apple award of the Book Illustration Biennale in Bratyslava. In 2010, Chmielewska illustrated the Polish edition of Dubravka Ugrešiċ’s Ghosts in My House, and in 2011 she illustrated Blumka’s Diary, a story in pictures about the lives of orphans in the care of Janusz Korczak. The illustrator is especially popular in Asian countries, most notably in South Korea, where she has published more than a dozen books to date.
Author: Mikołaj Gliński. Translated with edits by Paulina Schlosser, source: www.instytutksiazki.pl, www.bolognachildrensbookfair.com, www.polskailustracjadladzieci.pl, 26.03 2013