Illustrations for Mikhail Stelmakh's book "In the Hedgehog's Windmill" 1956

Hryhorii Havrylenko created this illustration for Mikhail Stelmakh's book "In the Hedgehog's Windmill" using a blend of graphic art techniques. The artwork captivates with its harmonious interplay of earth-toned colors and whimsical composition. The slightly tilted windmill structure, with its roughly hewn planks and visible tools, gives a playful yet precarious feeling, as if frozen in a moment of delightful chaos. A dynamic hedgehog character is captured mid-leap, inviting viewers into this story. Here, we can explore the semiotic interplay between the natural and the constructed. The windmill, a human invention, is rendered with organic textures that soften its mechanical nature. The image destabilizes our perception of established order and instead embraces a world where nature and human-made structures exist in joyous disorder. This illustration challenges the fixed boundaries between nature and architecture.