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Unforgotten by Tohby Riddle
JUDGES' COMMENTS
Angels sweep into urban areas, white-winged creatures one might glimpse at first as a flicker, blink or flash. They have come, we learn, ‘to watch over, to warm and to mend’. In his startlingly beautiful picture book Unforgotten, Tohby Riddle conjures up light, vulnerable creatures seen against mostly stark urban backgrounds. Here, the darkness does not signify a dark side but rather enlivens our curiosity and then our sympathy. The beguiling images draw us into a world that is mysterious and familiar at the same time — a place we might just know. One angel creature falls to earth and gradually roles are reversed as the watching, warming and mending becomes the responsibility of others.
Sombre tones are used in the collage of photo and artwork, so the intrusion of colour is arresting. Spare text and stunningly detailed artwork leave room for the reader’s interpretation and imagination as we wrestle with the polarities of light and dark, of doubt and faith, of kindness or indifference, even as we enjoy a wry smile at the human condition. There is a quiet beauty and calm about this book which makes it not so much a hymn to life as a hymn to some of the mysteries of life. Unforgotten bids the reader to remember empathy, kindness and compassion but also to remember the mysteries of the life of the mind.