Penguin Vintage – Three Brothers – Memories of my Family by Yan Lianke – Back cover iIlustration 2019

Curator: Standing before us is the back cover illustration, “Penguin Vintage – Three Brothers – Memories of my Family by Yan Lianke,” created in 2019 by Owen Gent. It is a watercolor that conjures a serene landscape. Editor: My initial reaction is of calm and reflection. The composition, the hazy, muted colours—it suggests a memory gently surfacing, something tranquil yet perhaps tinged with melancholy. Curator: Note how Gent uses watercolor to establish depth, layering the mountainous forms. The verticality is echoed in the water below, establishing compositional symmetry and therefore visual harmony. The subtle gradations in tone give the impression of light and air. Editor: Water is such a loaded image. Beyond reflections, it embodies the unconscious, the space of dreams and the passage of time. Those three birds are critical as well; traditionally birds are associated with souls or spirits, especially on painted screens in East Asia. In this context, the brothers evoke an orientalist tradition. Curator: The limited colour palette, predominantly blues, greens, and yellows, further enhances this harmonious feel, and aligns with many of Gent's illustration works that favour atmosphere and simple geometric composition. Editor: Those silhouetted mountains, reflected so perfectly, become almost Rorschach-like—they're archetypal forms that allow the viewer to project their own feelings of family and memory onto the scene. The lack of explicit details adds to this universality, doesn’t it? Curator: Indeed. The piece is an understated masterpiece in compositional balance, evoking not a specific place but rather the feeling of memory and quietude. It’s interesting how Gent's simplification of forms allows for multiple interpretations. Editor: The way the image balances emotional depth with an economy of line—that speaks to something profound about memory itself. Thanks to Gent’s symbolic choices, it carries a meaning that endures, long after you’ve glanced away.