The winners of the V&A Illustration Awards 2022



July 20, 2022

The awardees were announced at an event on 19 July at which Gérard DuBois has been awarded the Moira Gemmill Illustrator of the Year Prize and Book Illustration Winner 2022. His work, alongside the winners and runners-up in the published categories, and the student winner, runner-up and commended shortlist, will be displayed at the V&A South Kensington until Sunday 9 October in Gallery 88a & 90.

A full list of award winners, runners up and highly commended entries is below:

Winner of the Book Illustration Award and Moira Gemmill Illustrator of the Year

Gérard DuBois, The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Published by Folio Society, 2021

Based on Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, the work depicts a man and boy making a harrowing journey through post-apocalyptic America, inching towards the sea in the hope of salvation. In Gérard DuBois’ stunning illustrations, striking moments of tenderness between father and son provide bright spots amidst the desolation. Judge Posy Simmonds described the works as ‘magnificent, rich, poignant and melancholic’.

Runner-up of the Book Illustration category

Luisa Jung, Brain Fables: The Hidden History of Neurodegenerative Diseases and a Blueprint to Conquer Them by Alberto Espay and Benjamin Stecher. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2020

Winner of the Book Cover Award

Kerry Hyndman, The Rich House by Stella Gibbons. Published by Penguin, 2021

Kerry Hyndman’s work is primarily digital, incorporating hand drawn textures and layers to the image to add depth and detail. Observed from a clifftop, three women stroll across a beach. The encroaching sea and hovering seagull, and their footprints and shadows, suggest the setting of Gibbons’ novel – a seaside resort on the eve of World War Two – and its story of intertwined relationships.  The judges praised Hyndman’s eye-catching composition and beautiful draughtmanship.

Runner-up of Book Cover category

Lela Harris, The Color Purple by Alice Walker. Published by Folio Society, 2021

Winner of Illustrated Journalism Award

James Albon, ‘Tiktok’ by La ZEP, in Libération, 2021

James Albon’s illustration accompanied an article, written by young people, speaking to their first-hand experiences of the social media platform Tiktok, especially its hypnotic and negative effects on their self-image and mental health. The hypnotizing effect of social media is destabilizing Albon’s image: entranced by their phone, the figure’s eyes swirl, as do their hair, clothes and bedding. The eerie nocturnal scene is created with a blue and yellow palette, working in watercolour and gouache. The judges praised the humour and energy of the work.

Runner-up of Illustrated Journalism category

Alexis Tsegba, ‘The price of having black hair in a white world’ by Tamara Gilkes Borr, in The Economist’s 1843 Magazine, 2021

Student Illustrator of the Year

Kate Rolfe, Navigating Dyslexia. Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge School of Art)

In Kate Rolfe’s work, letterpress characters form impenetrable forests, tumble from books and pile high in an overwhelming wave of anxiety. Based on her personal experience, Navigating Dyslexia combines cyanotype and letterpress processes to communicate the nuanced experience of a person with dyslexia. The judges praised its humour, simplicity and ingenuity. Using traditional printmaking in a non-conventional manner allows Rolfe to ask important questions in an accessible and engaging fashion.

Student Runner-up

Chenyue Yuan, Pearl’s Daughters. Royal College of Art

Highly commended in the Student Illustration category

Jessica Ciccolone, Five Puffins in Antarctica. Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge School of Art)

Highly commended in the Student Illustration category

Klara Bianka Gryglicka, My Summer | Visual Diary. Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge School of Art)

Highly commended in the Student Illustration category

Yehyeon Yu, My Answer Sheet. Kingston University

Each category winner receives £3,000, and Gérard DuBois also receives the Moira Gemmill Illustrator of the Year Prize of £5,000 and his work enters the V&A collection. The student runner-up is awarded £2,000.

Come and see this year’s winning entries at the V&A Illustration Awards 2022 display, Gallery 88a & 90, 20 July – 9 October 2022.

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Any chance that these and previous winner editions will be published into a book?

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