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TALES OF THE GOLDEN APPLES

Context

What historical events are behind the legends of the girl-defenders, Altynchech and Karakuz

Process

How a book illustrator turned the heroines of legends into birds

Author

Guzel Garipova (Kazan)

Address

Underground passageway under Lenin Street

Altynchech and Karakuz

Алтынчәч һәм Каракүз

TALES OF THE GOLDEN APPLES

Context

The heroines of the mural in the underground passageway under Lenin Street, connecting the stairs to Neftyche Square, are Altynchech, daughter of the Bulgarian Khan, and her associate Karakuz.

At the beginning of the 13th century, Volga Bulgaria was raided, conquered and brought into the Mongol Empire, becoming part of the Ulus Jochi, later known as the Golden Horde. Tatar legends about the daughter of the Bulgarian khan Altynchech (her name can be translated as «Golden-haired») and the warrior Karakuz (her name translates as «Black-eyed») came from this period. In various versions of such legends, they protected the Volga cities from invaders.

Speaking about the importance of Altynchech for Tatar culture, one can recall, for example, that the premiere of the opera «Altynchech» by composer Nazib Zhiganov, with libretto by the poet Musa Jalil, took place in Kazan on June 9, 1941.

Working on a mural «Altynchech and Karakuz», 2018.

At the beginning of the 13th century, Volga Bulgaria was raided, conquered and brought into the Mongol Empire, becoming part of the Ulus Jochi, later known as the Golden Horde. Tatar legends about the daughter of the Bulgarian khan Altynchech (her name can be translated as «Golden-haired») and the warrior Karakuz (her name translates as «Black-eyed») came from this period. In various versions of such legends, they protected the Volga cities from invaders.

Speaking about the importance of Altynchech for Tatar culture, one can recall, for example, that the premiere of the opera «Altynchech» by composer Nazib Zhiganov, with libretto by the poet Musa Jalil, took place in Kazan on June 9, 1941.

Working on a mural «Altynchech and Karakuz», 2018.

Process

Art form: mural
Method: illustration
Material: facade acrylic paint, spray paint

Ital. Mural — wall

Monumental wall painting created on a faсade or a blank wall of a building or any other urban architectural objects.

«It was very important to us to employ artists from Tatarstan, because we are still the ancient Varangians, and their visual language has grown inside our native cultural space. Guzel Garipova is a famous Kazan illustrator, and in the project «Tales of Golden Apples», she has for the first time painted murals. She masterfully intertwines light lines, creating naïve, charming characters who are always flying off somewhere. Guzel skillfully weaves tradition and cultural codes into a modern, dynamic illustration. Everyone in Tatarstan from childhood knows the Volga-Bulgarian fairy tales about Altynchech, the girl-defender with golden hair. They also know her friend, the warrior Karakus. The exciting story of the city's salvation unfolds in a transformation in the underground passageway: at the entrance, they are girls and, at the exit, golden birds.»

Polina Yozh

Project lead, curator, founder of the Institute for Research on Street Art

Contrary to the expectations of many, the passageway is dear to the city's inhabitants: for two years of life on the wall, the story of two friends has not been subject to vandalism.

Fragment of the mural «Altynchech and Karakuz».

Contrary to the expectations of many, the passageway is dear to the city's inhabitants: for two years of life on the wall, the story of two friends has not been subject to vandalism.

Fragment of the mural «Altynchech and Karakuz».

Author

Guzel Garipova (Kazan)

Artist

guzelgaripova.com

Guzel Garipova is an illustrator, designer and artist from Kazan. She illustrates children's books, works with fairy tales and Tatar folk legends, publishes board games and guides, and teaches painting to adults and children. Guzel often works on the whole book – from illustrations to typesetting. Recently, she designed a collection of fairy tales by Abdullah Alish and a fairly tale by Yoldiz Minnullina's «Ay kizi Zohre» («Girl from the Moon») based on a Tatar legend about a girl whom the stars saved from her stepmother.

Yoldyz Minnullina «Ay kizi Zohre» («Girl from the Moon»). Publisher: Julbasma, 2018.

For the project «Tales of Golden Apples», she also depicted the word «ability» (Һөнәр) on the wall of the house on 37 Stroiteley Avenue, as part of a series of works united under the general heading «ABC book» («Әлифба»).

Guzel Garipova is an illustrator, designer and artist from Kazan. She illustrates children's books, works with fairy tales and Tatar folk legends, publishes board games and guides, and teaches painting to adults and children. Guzel often works on the whole book – from illustrations to typesetting. Recently, she designed a collection of fairy tales by Abdullah Alish and a fairly tale by Yoldiz Minnullina's «Ay kizi Zohre» («Girl from the Moon») based on a Tatar legend about a girl whom the stars saved from her stepmother.

For the project «Tales of Golden Apples», she also depicted the word «ability» (Һөнәр) on the wall of the house on 37 Stroiteley Avenue, as part of a series of works united under the general heading «ABC book» («Әлифба»).

Yoldyz Minnullina «Ay kizi Zohre» («Girl from the Moon»). Publisher: Julbasma, 2018.

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