The Lighthouse

2022 HCA Jury recommends

CONTENT

A man and a boy say their goodbyes in the port, and the boat sails away, but not everything goes according to plan. Soon, enormous waves rise, and the tentacles of a giant squid reach out ... Is a safe return to the home port even possible?

ABOUT THIS WORK

After a few years, the master illustrator Damijan Stepančič has once again created a wordless picture book. Following the excellent reception of his Zgodba o sidru (The Story of an Anchor), his narrative is now focused on the lighthouse and the sea. The lavish illustrations are filled with suggestions for interpretation (such as coats of arms and other details), especially animal symbols, and Stepančič proves to be a fine dramaturge – the suspense builds up gradually; one dynamic, dramatic scene comes after another, and a mysteriousness characteristic of the sea pervades the work as a whole. The viewing and composing of the story, which spans sixteen double-page illustrations, starts in the port, with a man going to the sea, and it is introduced by a quote from the Tabula Smaragdina: “That which is below is like that which is above and that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing”. At the end of the book, the illustrator has added an appendix in the form of three concepts which are related to the content and can assist the reader in composing their own version of the story of the battle against the sea or at sea.