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There are grasshoppers jumping
There are grasshoppers jumping
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★Wu Ruei-che, an artist selected for the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition in Italy and the Ilustrarte Biennial in Portugal, presents his first graphic novel!
★Designed by Deng Yu, with a silk-screened cloth-bound hardcover, five-color internal printing, and high-quality paper, showcasing art-level craftsmanship in bookbinding.
"In Wu Ruei-che's garden,
days are a combination of geometric shapes,
colors clash,
and the lines of fate are gently arranged." — Sun Tzu-ping
★Wu Ruei-che, who "draws with scissors," cuts out a captivating visual journey, creating multi-layered spaces of shape and color.
★Recommended by Lin Hsiao-pei, Sun Tzu-ping, Chen Shu-li, Chen Po-yu, and Jimmy Liao!
"For me, creation is about honesty, following life, and something that cannot be forced." — Wu Ruei-che
Selected for the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition in 2017, then pursued a master's degree in illustration at the Royal College of Art in the UK. In 2018, he was selected for the Ilustrarte Biennial in Portugal. After graduating in 2019, he was invited to a three-month residency in Lisbon, Portugal. As one of the few young Taiwanese creators using papercutting and collage as primary artistic forms, Wu Ruei-che's graphic works are highly anticipated. However, when he finally returned to Taiwan before the pandemic, what he first presented to readers were concise and brilliant book designs...
It wasn't until October 2023 that his first personal graphic novel in Taiwan, "There Are Grasshoppers Jumping," finally arrived.
"Days are like this,
grasshoppers jump, the metronome starts,
some things should not be too explicit."
"There Are Grasshoppers Jumping" is a special work that makes you reopen your eyes, cleanse your visual cortex, and rediscover the ability to "see" images. The dark green cloth-bound cover features a simple, dark floral shape (or perhaps a figure with outstretched arms?), with the fabric extending to the inside. This is followed by a naked-spine hardcover body, connecting to a green grassland on a bright yellow background. The camera then starts to operate from the endpapers, and the journey begins, sometimes zooming in for a close-up, sometimes pulling back. The "grasshopper" protagonist sometimes hides in the details of the picture (be sure to look closely), and sometimes spills across a giant spread.
Wu Ruei-che's narrative under the scissors is visual, not traditionally plot-driven. Through concise lines, pure geometric shapes, and bold, vivid contrasting color blocks, he skillfully collages the existence and transformation of different spaces. In this way, the story-driven time that serves meaning is eliminated, replaced by the uniqueness of moments of stillness and movement, and the poetry and aesthetic beauty that erupt from them.
"Days are like this, imagine
becoming a gardener, the soil not yet dry,
shadows too long, grass too sharp."
From bright yellow to silver-black to white to blue-green, the background tones create an interesting division and transformation of spatial fields. The flattened shapes of scenery, flowers, plants, and insects highlight the pure aesthetic beauty of geometric forms. Beyond the images, Wu Ruei-che, who has won literary awards and been selected for essay collections, intersperses a poem broken into four stanzas throughout the book. The images and text do not directly correspond.
Wu Ruei-che states: "My work has harmonious parts (images) and divergent parts (images and text). That divergence comes from my preference for placing two things that are not so close together; they each carry meaning, but when placed together, they create another layer of meaning. That 'other layer of meaning' is perhaps more what I want to express. It comes partly from me and partly from the reader's free interpretation (even misinterpretation), and I enjoy this distance and relationship."
"There Are Grasshoppers Jumping" is an extension of Wu Ruei-che's "Greenhouse" series from 2021, featuring deletions and rebirths, a re-editing and整理 of himself by the author. Whether as a picture book, a graphic novel, or an art book, this work, regardless of its thematic angle or stylistic expression, is a distinctive and outstanding piece rarely seen in Taiwan today.
"There are grasshoppers jumping. Weaving a cradle, I continue
to read long sentences—
everything is stolen."
— Wu Ruei-che
This book's binding design was crafted by Deng Yu, working seamlessly with Wu Ruei-che, who is also a designer. The minimalist and elegant overall tone, from the cover and belly band to the inner pages and bookplates, uses high-standard paper selection and printing processes. This makes flipping through the book a delightful tactile experience and allows Wu Ruei-che's vibrant papercut colors to be presented with the utmost perfection and delicacy. Every detail is a pleasure to behold, making this an absolute must-have piece of book art.
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★Designed by Deng Yu, with a silk-screened cloth-bound hardcover, five-color internal printing, and high-quality paper, showcasing art-level craftsmanship in bookbinding.
"In Wu Ruei-che's garden,
days are a combination of geometric shapes,
colors clash,
and the lines of fate are gently arranged." — Sun Tzu-ping
★Wu Ruei-che, who "draws with scissors," cuts out a captivating visual journey, creating multi-layered spaces of shape and color.
★Recommended by Lin Hsiao-pei, Sun Tzu-ping, Chen Shu-li, Chen Po-yu, and Jimmy Liao!
"For me, creation is about honesty, following life, and something that cannot be forced." — Wu Ruei-che
Selected for the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition in 2017, then pursued a master's degree in illustration at the Royal College of Art in the UK. In 2018, he was selected for the Ilustrarte Biennial in Portugal. After graduating in 2019, he was invited to a three-month residency in Lisbon, Portugal. As one of the few young Taiwanese creators using papercutting and collage as primary artistic forms, Wu Ruei-che's graphic works are highly anticipated. However, when he finally returned to Taiwan before the pandemic, what he first presented to readers were concise and brilliant book designs...
It wasn't until October 2023 that his first personal graphic novel in Taiwan, "There Are Grasshoppers Jumping," finally arrived.
"Days are like this,
grasshoppers jump, the metronome starts,
some things should not be too explicit."
"There Are Grasshoppers Jumping" is a special work that makes you reopen your eyes, cleanse your visual cortex, and rediscover the ability to "see" images. The dark green cloth-bound cover features a simple, dark floral shape (or perhaps a figure with outstretched arms?), with the fabric extending to the inside. This is followed by a naked-spine hardcover body, connecting to a green grassland on a bright yellow background. The camera then starts to operate from the endpapers, and the journey begins, sometimes zooming in for a close-up, sometimes pulling back. The "grasshopper" protagonist sometimes hides in the details of the picture (be sure to look closely), and sometimes spills across a giant spread.
Wu Ruei-che's narrative under the scissors is visual, not traditionally plot-driven. Through concise lines, pure geometric shapes, and bold, vivid contrasting color blocks, he skillfully collages the existence and transformation of different spaces. In this way, the story-driven time that serves meaning is eliminated, replaced by the uniqueness of moments of stillness and movement, and the poetry and aesthetic beauty that erupt from them.
"Days are like this, imagine
becoming a gardener, the soil not yet dry,
shadows too long, grass too sharp."
From bright yellow to silver-black to white to blue-green, the background tones create an interesting division and transformation of spatial fields. The flattened shapes of scenery, flowers, plants, and insects highlight the pure aesthetic beauty of geometric forms. Beyond the images, Wu Ruei-che, who has won literary awards and been selected for essay collections, intersperses a poem broken into four stanzas throughout the book. The images and text do not directly correspond.
Wu Ruei-che states: "My work has harmonious parts (images) and divergent parts (images and text). That divergence comes from my preference for placing two things that are not so close together; they each carry meaning, but when placed together, they create another layer of meaning. That 'other layer of meaning' is perhaps more what I want to express. It comes partly from me and partly from the reader's free interpretation (even misinterpretation), and I enjoy this distance and relationship."
"There Are Grasshoppers Jumping" is an extension of Wu Ruei-che's "Greenhouse" series from 2021, featuring deletions and rebirths, a re-editing and整理 of himself by the author. Whether as a picture book, a graphic novel, or an art book, this work, regardless of its thematic angle or stylistic expression, is a distinctive and outstanding piece rarely seen in Taiwan today.
"There are grasshoppers jumping. Weaving a cradle, I continue
to read long sentences—
everything is stolen."
— Wu Ruei-che
This book's binding design was crafted by Deng Yu, working seamlessly with Wu Ruei-che, who is also a designer. The minimalist and elegant overall tone, from the cover and belly band to the inner pages and bookplates, uses high-standard paper selection and printing processes. This makes flipping through the book a delightful tactile experience and allows Wu Ruei-che's vibrant papercut colors to be presented with the utmost perfection and delicacy. Every detail is a pleasure to behold, making this an absolute must-have piece of book art.
