Chinese Year of the Tiger by Ana Jaks

This issue continues the Isle of Man Post Office’s (IOMPO) strong association with the theme, having released numerous stamp issues commemorating the start of the Chinese New Year and including the previous four years; in the Year of the Pig, the Year of the Dog, the Year of the Rat and the Ox (which were the first triangular stamps to be issued by IOMPO).

The Tiger is the third animal represented in the twelve year Lunar cycle beginning on 1^st  February 2021, other Tiger years being 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998 and 2010.

The Stamps

This collection also continues our tradition of offering young Manx designers their first opportunity to design stamps. The talented Ana Jaks has incorporated aspects of the Tiger’s mythology:

• 67p - The sign’s celebrated courage;
• £1.71 - The cosmological link to the element of water;
• £2.32 - Tiger’s compatibility with the Horse,
• £3.89 - The auspicious association with plum blossom.

The inclusion of traditional Chinese pottery forms alongside the customary use of gold metallic ink is apposite for this quintessentially Chinese celebration.

Ana Jaks

Illustrator and mural painter, Ana Jaks (or Anya Jackson, as known by Island dwellers) was born and raised on the Isle of Man. She studied a two year National Diploma in Art & Design at the Isle of Man College under Ian Coulson, before moving to Cornwall to study a BA in Illustration at Falmouth University in 2012. Between then and now, Ana has been working freelance on and off the Island. In 2017, she spent the spring/summer months working with Henry Bloom Noble Primary School to create a mural, which then led to her studying an MA in Visual Communication at Bath Spa University to explore different media.

She now lives and works in Bristol, honing her craft and sharing a studio space with other illustrators and designers.