Pete Revonkorpi 童話の世界はそこにある！

　Pete Revonkorpiは、「Pete Revonkorpi-armchair aquarium [アームチェア・アクアリウム]」なるブログで見つけたイラストレーター。
「Antithesis Common Literary Magazine - Issue IV, Summer 2006　Featured Art By Pete Revonkorpi」によると、Pete Revonkorpiは、フィンランドのフリーランスのイラストレーターだとか。

→　Pete Revonkorpi『Together』　（画像は、「Antithesis Common Literary Magazine - Issue IV, Summer 2006　Featured Art By Pete Revonkorpi」より）

　Pete Revonkorpi（ピート・レヴォンコルピ？）は子供の頃、彼の家の背後にある森で多くの時を過ごした。森には、トロール（ 【北欧神話】：地中の穴に住む巨人または小びと）や妖精、鬼といった数多くの奇妙な生き物の棲み処であることを知り、彼らと友達になった。世の多くの人と同様、成長するに従いそういった世界からは離れ去ったけれど、それでも彼を訪ねてやって来る生き物はいるし、彼もまたできる限り彼の旧友に会いに戻ったりするのだという。

←　Pete Revonkorpi『Two Strangers』　（画像は、「Antithesis Common Literary Magazine - Issue IV, Summer 2006　Featured Art By Pete Revonkorpi」より）

　彼のこういった神話的というか童話的世界に興味のある人は、「pesare on deviantART」なる頁を覗くといい。「The House That Wasn't」なんて興味深い思い出話を読むことが出来る。
　参考のため、本稿の末尾に転記しておく。

→　『Winter Garden 』　（画像は、「pesare on deviantART」より）

　子供の頃は多少なりとも童話的世界に誰しも親和性を持っていたりする。
　が、小学生になるころには早くもそうした世界から脱皮してしまう。世界をリアルに見る。というより、世界を見る世間や仲間内の常識や規則にガッチリ囚われていく。
　世界が奇妙に見えていたころ。子供の目線からは大人たちの世界がずっと高く見え、地べたの草や虫や花や、大地そのものが身近に感じられていた。
　恐らくは子供を見守る大人の配慮が子供を襲うだろう危険や危ない人を遠ざけていたのだろうが、子供は自分の力で…そう、魔力のようなもので、自力でサバイバルしていたのだった。

←　『Cocoon』　（画像は、「pesare on deviantART」より）

　大人からは童話的な思い込みに過ぎないのだとしても、物心付いて間もないほんの一時期、そんな魔的な時を生きることがあったのだろう。やがては通過してしまう。
　自分が無際限の力を持っており、無辺大の夢に生きていたことなど、恥ずかしくて人前では語れなくなる…封印してしまう…やがて、綺麗サッパリ忘れてしまう。
　大人の世界がリアルなのか、世界が奇妙に見えていた幼児の心の世界こそがリアルなのかは、比較してもあまり意味のない、それこそ建設的な話ではないのだろうが、世の中には時に大人になっても童子の柔らかな心性を保ち続ける人がいる。
　きっとそういう人は生きにくいのだろう。心の中の世界が豊かなのだろうとしても。

→　『Equilibrist』　（画像は、「pesare on deviantART」より）

　童話の世界というのは「童話」の中にだけあるわけじゃないのだろう。
　きっと、心の中にある。
　だから、きっと都会の雑踏であってさえも、童話の心は息衝いている…。

　まあ別にPete Revonkorpiの世界がどうだということに関係なく、彼の作品を見ていると、そんなことを思わせてくれたりしたのである。

［参考］
「The House That Wasn't」：

I think the house was blue. Or maybe it was red. I can't really remember, I never payed that much attention to it. Not untill it was gone.
I was about nine years old at the time. It was summer, and the school was finally out. Now, everywhere else those would have been the happiest and the most exiting days to be a child, but it just so happened that we lived in a very small town (well, not even a town really, but a village) and the most exiting things that ever happened there were the days it rained. At least then you had an exuse for not being able to do anything.
And we had a lot of those days that summer. And even when it didn't rain, the air was dripping wet. And I remember thinking that if the clouds would ever scatter and the sun would come out, the whole village would soon start to bubble and boil.
And it did. The very first hot day that summer. The day we saw the dark smoke in the sky.
Olli and I were at the frog pond. We were building "The Frog World". We made little dams and little rivers, and small mud castles where the frogs could live, and we hoped that it would grow in to a great civilization, which Gods we would then be.
Olli saw the smoke first. It came from somewhere behind the pond, at the edge of the village, and we were a little baffled because neither of us remembered that anyone ever lived there. Or that there even were any houses near there.
- But something is definitely burning there, Olli said. - Let's go have a look!

←　『Our Town』　（画像は、「pesare on deviantART」より）　「Artist's Statement Urban Jungle...」

There wasn't much left of the house when we arrived. A charred chimney that stood alone in the middle of burned, black rubble. Something that could have been a child's bed or a small table, and something that looked like parts of toys or maybe some kind of tools.
- Who's house was this? I asked Olli.
- I don't know, Olli said and shrugged his shoulders.
- What do you think happened? I asked again. - Do you think anybody... died?
- Probably, Olli said.
And all the time more and more people came, gathering around the place to see what had happened. And pretty soon the whole village was there, just standing, trying to sneak a peak inside the house that wasn't.
- Didn't that old man, who used to live near the school, just move here last month, said Mr. Fredrikson.
- I heard he was once in a mental institution, Mrs. Hilda said. - He always did seem strange to me.
- But he lived alone. I heard it was a whole family that lived here, old man Grumpy said.
- I heard somebody saw kids walking around with a canister couple nights ago, Mr. Fredrikson said.
- I know, Mrs. Hilda said. - And I warned people. I said it would mean trouble.
- Well, I'm not going to sleep well tonight, Mr. Fredrikson said. - I have a big house and a lot of valuables in there.
- Kids, Grumpy grumbled.
- But what if it was that crazy old man who did this... I mean, why would anybody do something like this?
- Trouble, Mrs. Hilda said quietly. - More trouble. Lots of trouble, I'm telling you...
- I'm afraid you're right, Mr. Fredrikson said.
And smoke was still rising from the rubble.

→　Pete Revonkorpi　『？』　（画像は、「Pete Revonkorpi 插画欣赏-中国艺术设计联盟 Arting365.com」より。）

Nobody talked about anything else that day. It was whispered in the streets, talked about in the stores, agreed upon around coffee tables - there was a monster loose in the village. And nobody was completely safe. You could feel it everywhere. Something horrible had found it's way in to our quiet little village, and it had quickly taken a strong hold of it. More and more stories about the fire were told. Some people were sure it was a revenge, that it was something from the past. And everybody knew somebody who had seen a dark figure somewhere, standing silently, just watching their house. Children weren't allowed to go outside and play anymore, everybody locked their doors and most people stayed up whole night guarding their house, sitting on their porch, watching for shadows.
And even though the paper next morning claimed that the fire was caused by an electric failure, and that nobody had lost their lives, people were still sure there was more to the story. There had to be. Things like these just don't happen by accident. And when things like these happen, they will surely happen again.
- God, I wish they catch who ever did this, mom said while we were having breakfast.
- But I thought it was just a broken electric box, I said.
- Yes, but if it wasn't...
And right then, thankfully, the doorbell rang.
- It's Olli, I said and finished my juice quickly, jumped up from the chair and ran to the door.
- Hi, I said.
- Hi, Olli said.
- So, what do you want to do? Should we go have a look at that house again?
- Nah, Olli said tiredly. - Let's go build The Frog World. I found some tin cans that will make great towers.
- Sure, I said. - Sounds great!
I grabbed my jacket, and when I ran out the door I looked up.
- You know, I think it might start raining again...
- Good, Olli said. - That means more frogs.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　（08/06/16作　08/06/20追記）