Literature Remix

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  Sponsored by:

  New Zealand Post

"Crossed Cultures" by Allan Xia

http://paperasylum.blogspot.com/2011/09/literature-remix.html

Description

A unanimous winner, Allan Xia's "Crossed Cultures" remixed source images from Dylan Horrocks and poem by Renee Liang, with original illustrations creating a dynamic, new piece in a scrolling webcomic style. Category sponsored by New Zealand Post

$2000 is awarded to the very best work of literature that creatively re-mixes our selection of talented NZ writers’ works. The four runners up in the Literature Remix category win a fine selection of Victoria University Press books. All winners will be published in a Creative Commons licensed Mebooks e-book alongside the original authors’ works.

Selected judges' comments

"By combining Renee Liang's 'Crossed Cultures' with Dylan Horrock's 'Siso,' and drawing on his own experiences, Xia has created a powerful new work. I liked the vertical, descending reading format; this aided the narrative, creating a sense of uncertainty and a compulsion to see how things turned out. Like Liang's poem, this work is located in a particular, personal experience, but transcends this, resonating more widely. It's a beautiful work."

" This is my favourite, a lovely piece that brings out the best in both originals. It is perhaps the simplest, putting two pieces together in a way that is sympathetic to both, but creates something new. I really enjoyed the deep page. Not being a big reader of comics online, most of those I have read have observed traditional page formats, so this seemed very fresh to me. "Originality: I loved the way Allan arranged his work for the screen. There's a lot of talk about how comics translate to the online environment and I think Allan's work shows how successful a Webcomic can be. I loved floating up and down the piece. The text integrated so beautifully with the art. I think the image that stuck in my mind from the start was the one that accompanies the line, 'Her hot orchid breath' then floats through the ear in the vine of 'whispering' into the speech bubble which announces 'You are not one of them'. Allan's choice to slow these central lines down by pulling them out of the text in this way demonstrates a real understanding of the works he is remixing. It's clever without being clever for clever's sake. Instead form reflects content and together they add more to both source texts."

"The source material has been used in very original and surprising ways. The poem is born again here. The poem and the pictures maintain their original power but are also born again as something new which I think is really great. The source shines through in a way that is really satisfying to me. They don't feel like they have only been cut out and pasted somewhere, they feel moulded and shaped and chosen into something new. It is a beautiful work of sculpture almost but still maintains the language of comic and poetry and displays these in a way that makes them something new again. It is as if 2+2 =5 or 'S' or a panorama of emotion and image. I think it displays an exceptional talent and a very thoughtful approach to the task of remixing."

Sources

• Dylan Horrocks, Siso
• Renee Liang, Crossed Cultures