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好的繪本作品不但是沒有國界，更是沒有年齡限制的。英國作家與兒童文學插畫家約翰．伯寧罕（John Burningham, 1936-2019）就認為：「在這大人小孩閱讀界線漸次消失的時代，繪本的讀者已無年齡的限制。」在挪威，繪本被視為適合所有年齡層。日本報導文學作家柳田邦男（1936- ）在〈與生命共鳴的繪本〉一文中曾寫到︰「大人更應該看繪本！」

繪本的特色就是圖文的特質，長久以來，它被認為是一種綜合藝術的結晶。過去關於「繪本」的研究大都著重在它們的教育功能或從兒童文學的角度切入，而忽略了透過繪本這個媒材本身如何和世界接軌的意義。隨著時代進步和繪本的發展，十九世紀末、二十世紀初，插圖的作用多是用來「重現或輔助字面上的語意」，如十九世紀末、二十世紀初出版的《愛麗絲夢遊仙境》與《哈姆雷特》等，這些圖與圖之間未必有連貫的關係，應該算是「插繪本」或繪本的先驅。發展至今，許多繪本都以圖像為主，文字為輔，視覺圖像（Visual Graphics）在現代溝通傳播上，已成為不可或缺的媒介。

繪本是真正的藝術，其對兒童甚至成人不只是輔佐閱讀的功能而已，對圖像的感知和視覺元素品味的改變，及與世界如何互動，都有著潛移默化的影響力。近年來因為繪本市場的日益蓬勃，臺灣有更多創作者投入繪本的創作，國外許多得獎作品也相繼被引進臺灣。本展覽與讀者一起探索繪本的發展及其圖文背後的奧妙，展覽一共分為三個子題：I「插畫黃金時期」、II「繪本的前世今生」、III「漫遊華文繪本」。透過不同主題的範例和演變脈絡，讓觀者了解繪本的形成演變及對臺灣視覺文化與插畫產業的影響。

A good picture book can reach beyond national borders for readers of all ages.  According to John Burningham (1936-2019), a British author and illustrator of children's books, “reading” shows less and less difference between adults and children in today’s world, while picture books are no longer limited to readers of certain ages. Picture books in Norway are created for all ages, and Kunio Yanagida, the Japanese literary journalist, has said in his Picture Book Resonating with Life（いのちと共鳴する絵本）that “picture books are more for adults!”

The picture book, as its name suggests, is characterized with illustration that accompanies with the text.  Since long time ago, it has been considered a mixed art form.  The previous studies of picture books mostly focused either on their educational purpose or was discussed in the aspect of children’s literature, as they often ignored how picture books as a medium connected with the world.  When we look at the development of the picture book throughout the passage of time, the illustration at the turn of the Twentieth century generally functioned to “revisualize or supplement what the text literally suggests” as a support for readers’ interpretation and understanding.  These pioneering examples of “picture book” or “illustration book” include Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Hamlet, both published in the end of the 19^th century or early 20^th century, where the illustrations are not necessarily threaded as storytelling sequences. However, the illustration-text relationship in the practice of picture books has been reversed nowadays while illustration becomes the main body with text as its supplement, suggesting that visual graphics in modern communication has now been considered an indispensable medium.  

The picture book is a form of true art.  It is not merely to facilitate the process of reading for children or even adults but has its implicit influence that has subconsciously changed how visual graphics is perceived and appreciated as well as its interaction with the world.  The rising prosperity of the picture book market in recent years has attracted more and more artists into the profession while numerous award-winning works have also been introduced to Taiwan.  The exhibition ImageNation: The Wonderland of Picture Books consists of three subtopics, bringing us from Golden Age of Illustration, Reincarnation of Picture Books, to Strolling down the Wonderland of Chinese Picture Books.  Featuring various examples which contextualize the transition of its practice, it offers an insightful view on how the picture book is formed and developed as well as its impact on the graphic culture and illustration industry in Taiwan.