Meet Jimmy Liao and all his pals

Shanghai’s Joy City mall is hosting a huge exhibition of art inspired by Jimmy Liao, the Taiwan illustrator who is famous for his romantic and exquisite picture books loved by metropolitan youth.
Characters, animals and classical scenes from his two books, “How to Own a Corner” and “One More Day with You”, were made real through various artists’ designs.
At the entrance to Joy City are two rocking horses, one big and one small, decorated with colourful hand-woven cloth. These “rocking horses in dreams” are designed by artists Nicole Deng from Taiwan and Nial O’Connor, an Irish-born Australian illustrator now living in Shanghai, echoing the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year of the Horse.
The main hall on the third floor has been turned into a circus with large sculptures of an elephant, giraffe, lion, bear and sea lion greeting visitors. Careful readers of Liao will be happy to find the circus tent, the animals and scenes are exactly the same as in the book.
There is more to explore inside the tent. A dozen large drawings from the two books are displayed on the wall of the tent. Resonating with the exhibition’s theme, “How to Own a Corner”, artists from Taiwan and Sweden created some of the world’s secret corners in their minds.
The most extraordinary part in the main tent is the “pry into small worlds” area, in which a dozen crystal balls, about 20 centimetres in diameter, shine in the darkness. Inside each ball is a tiny world: a snowy village, a lonely parking lot or a wind-power station. Colourful light beams sweep through the balls and dazzle visitors.
Walking out of the tent and looking up, one can see six giant sculptures of Xiao Mi, a character in Liao’s book, hanging in the air. Xiao Mi poses in different gestures as if he’s flying in the sky, which – together with the cute animals on the ground – produces an illusion that people are living in the world Liao created.
There are also plenty of souvenirs for sale, such as wallets, notebooks, photo frames and table lamps with themes from Liao’s works. “Many shopping malls hold exhibitions now, but I think this one is the most impressive,” says Huang Yuting, a 28-year-old Shanghai woman who works for a local company.
“I first read Jimmy’s ‘Turn Left, Turn Right’ in high school and fell in love with his books from then on. I feel his drawings have a magical power of touching the heart.”
Liao had suffered from leukaemia and recovered after spending much time in the hospital. The idea of life being fragile and the stress that comes with the thought of losing loved ones always is an undertone of his works, which have captivated countless urbanites.