Works of unlimited imagination on display

A forgotten corner of the art world – children's book illustration – is being given a boost by the “Pictures and Conversations” exhibition in Moscow. The exhibition hopes to show that art isn't just between the covers but

“What is the use of a book without pictures or conversations?” asks Alice in the beginning of Lewis Carroll's classic. It's difficult to argue, as the images of favourite characters stay in the heart from childhood. The exhibition got its name from Alice's words, and no surprise that illustrations for the book are also on display.

Artist Yury Shtapakov craved to put on paper his childhood impressions from reading Russian writer and poet, Daniil Harms. His pictures are both funny and scary and leave young readers page turning to the end. To illustrate Harms, the artist learned a rare technique. He carves the images with a needle on a floor cloth and then colours the blurred contour.

Azat Minnekaev uses a more traditional approach. He creates water colours for an academic edition of Russian epics. His works differ from those seen in school books, just like the poems he illustrates do.

How characters look in stories like the tales of Hoffmann depends entirely on the illustrators. And their imagination is only limited by the size of the page.