Two
separate illustrations for Baba Yaga
circa
2009-11
A cranky old woman
raising havoc aboard a flying barrel - this is certainly an unusual sight.
Furious is she to have been so cleverly cheated out of a hot meal by the very
girl she was going to eat, Baba Yaga is seen pursuing, bat and broom in hand,
the fleeing young maiden. Puttapipat strategically separates the girl from the
old hag with the clump of tall trees, seen in his illustration to the right, so as
to imply that no matter how desperately the witch will chase after her pretty
two-legged meal, she will never catch her. Using tricks the young maiden
learned from her wise aunt (for it was initially the maiden's evil step-mother
who tried to rid her off by sending her away to her fake 'auntie', the
notorious child-eater Baba Yaga), the girl carries out a series of odd tasks
such as feeding to a pack of fierce dogs fresh bread rolls instead of dried
crusts, and eventually finds herself completely out of harm's way.
The beauty of this tale, rendered here for
two different books of tales (The Red
Fairy Book by Andrew Lang and Myths
and Legends of Russia by Aleksandr Afanasev), lies not only in its mix of
completely unrealistic events - giving it a sense of surrealism - but also in
the irresistible imagery procured by its words. Comparing Puttapipat's earlier
and later versions of the same tale emphasises his incredible proficiency in
different media as well as the dedication he infuses into even the finest of
details, making them all the more stunning.
