Artists

Photo Credit: NIU Chun-Chiang

Evergreen Yeh

A winner of the Japan International Manga Award, Evergreen Yeh has represented Taiwan at the Angoulême International Comics Festival and Lucca Comics & Games. His work explores spirituality and nature through comics, characterized by delicate sketches and flowing watercolor telling poetic and culturally-rooted stories. Blending elements of Taiwanese and Pacific cultures, Yeh’s comics explore the relationship between humans and the world, seeking to create a space of resonance between imagination and reality.

Artist
Statement.


Following the sale of Mayfly Island to Italian and French publishers at the 2021 Angoulême International Comics Festival, and after seeing the breadth and diversity of works presented there, I was inspired to apply for a residency. I am honored that my proposal, A Fantasy Journey of Gods and Spirits, was selected by Spanish organization Hablar en Arte. This allowed me to explore the tales of rural monsters and witches across Spain. The residency deepened my perspective on life and art. In the Spanish countryside, I encountered people who live with joy despite poverty. It is also in such an environment that 2 maestros with exceptional artistic caliber, Goya and Picasso emerged. Their artistic achievements, solidly expressed through paint and brush on canvas, continue to move people today, including myself. This reminded me of the power of visual media to communicate with a wide audience. This city, rich in culture and art, supported me every single day. It gave me not only the confidence to continue making comics, but also a clearer vision of the kind of comics I want to create in the future.

During the residency, I attended El patio suena / El soniclo es de todas organized by Hablar en Arte. This annual public event took place on October 25, 2023 at Patio Central de Condeduque, featuring a large-scale music and drawing workshop designed for families with children. I led the Draw Your Own Yaoqui station, where I provided illustrations of Taiwanese folk spirits such as Lady Lintou, Tiger Lord, Water Ghost, and Mo-sin-a. Children were encouraged to draw spirits they remembered from stories told by their elders at home. In fact, regional stories endure through retelling, with folk spirits and monsters passed down across generations of oral tradition. They represent not only tales shared by grandparents and parents, but also connections to one’s family, hometown, and nation.

Author: Evergreen Yeh
Edited: Brix

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