Jie Gao: Oasis

Congratulations on winning Zealous Stories: Illustration! Your project Oasis comments on a world paralysed by modern society. Could you tell us more about the inspiration for this series?

As I have gotten older, I seem to care less about the things that I used to feel strongly towards. I talked this through with my friends and they shared a similar perspective. This got me thinking –  everyone has a little version of themselves in their mind, which is strong, positive and happier than us. We can easily ignore that part of ourselves.

During these decades of economic growth, we’ve had an abundance of tools for social interaction and entertaining. Nevertheless, loneliness is more prevalent than ever before. We are all paralysed by our busy lives – time seems to be getting less and less, and we lack the space to think. There is no respite. In this fast-paced era, I prefer to stop, allowing myself enough time to think and grow.

Oasis is a digital illustration. Could you tell us about the process / technology that you use?

I usually do a simple sketch to determine the overall composition of the work. Then I will roughly
determine the colour of the whole illustration. I love drawing on my iPad. I use ProCreate.

 Which of your projects has been most important to developing your personal style?

‘Stealer’ is the most important project, because it made my style more gentle and emotional. This project inspired me to create more narrative illustrations.

Many of your illustrations are accompanied by poetic text. How do you feel the text enhances your images?

I love reading and writing poetry and the implicit emotions that it conveys. This kind of vague expression allows readers more space for imagination  – my illustrations embody these emotions to a certain extent. Instead of just presenting the audience a certain scene, poetry makes it easier for the audience to have an emotional association and resonate with my work.