Fabric for the «39/10» project

A Somber Russian Fairy Tale on Silk

The composition is built upon the boundary between the inhabited world and the unknown. Small village houses are situated amidst gentle gray hills. They are recognizable and almost mundane, yet around them are no familiar signs of life—no movement, no light, no human presence. The repetition of structures transforms the landscape into a strange memory of a place that feels familiar, though the road leading there is impossible to recall. This is where the fairy-tale unease begins: outwardly everything is calm, but the familiar order has already been disturbed.

In the corners of the fabric, a coniferous forest thickens. Against the backdrop of meticulously drawn trees, dark hut-on-stumps—the clearest sign of transition into another world—emerge. Their placement at the edges of the composition can be read as four portals into a magical space. In folklore, Baba Yaga’s hut often becomes a place of trial: beyond its threshold, the hero awaits not only a threat but also the possibility of gaining knowledge or aid. Therefore, here it is perceived not merely as a frightening image, but as a symbol of encountering a power that cannot be subjected to conventional rules.

The black silhouettes of cats add a watchful dynamism to the ornamentation. The cat here is a potential guide, an observer, a creature that freely crosses the boundaries of the domestic and the wild. Next to it stretch rows of blurred dark figures. Their indistinct outlines leave space for the imagination: are they travelers, shadows, or forest dwellers? The absence of an answer makes the image more unsettling than a direct depiction of a monster.

The monochrome palette reinforces this uncertainty. Milky, ashen, smoky gray, and black evoke twilight, fog, and antique book illustration. The light center remains almost empty—like a pause in a narrative before the most crucial part is spoken. It gives the eye a rest while simultaneously intensifying the density and tension of the surrounding ornamentation.

The silk enters into a striking contrast with this world. The soft, flowing fabric carries images of rigid branches, dark huts, and ambiguous silhouettes. As it moves, the design changes: the forest disappears into the folds, the cat appears at the edge, a fragment of a house surfaces into the light. Each way of tying the piece gathers its own version of the story.