The Bird in the Cloud

Chinese artists Rong Yu's illustrations for the book The Bird in the Cloud received a Golden Apple Award at the renowned Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava (BIB) in 2013.

The plot of the story depicts a crested myna which aspires to escape from a be-loved but constrained living environment and finally finds his true home, symbolizing the relationship between love and the importance of freedom. Yu applies traditional Chinese paper-cutting techniques to Western-looking characters, which is seen as a great endeavor to combine Chinese and Western arts.

The use of a dark blue color makes for a strong contrast with the background which stretches to highlight the bird — the main character — in his everyday life and his interaction with human beings.