Gertrude Savage and the Moscow River

The character in this leporello, as in a number of other projects by the artist is Gertrude Savage, a hybrid of a superhero and someone from a lubok print. Gertrude’s main weapons are a mighty plait (of hair) and magic gloves made from birch bark. A pack of young men with dog heads are her faithful servants, and her feats include victory over giant mutant catfish, saving parachutists from the horrors of their professional holiday, and pacifying the raging Moscow River.

The book is a graphic story with rare text inserts. Podkorytova makes active use of urban folklore and plays with gender roles, turning existing stereotypes inside out. The leporello is almost six meters long and is illustrated on both sides with India ink and watercolor.

The book was created as part of the Garage Library project Single Copy.