Tomislav Torjanac | Life of Pi / Pijev život

EN “Tomislav Torjanac has illustrated Yann Martel’s Booker-winning novel, Life of Pi, in sumptuous oils to create a special edition of rare beauty.”
– The Guardian

“If one flicks through the 40 images in the resplendent new hard-back edition [of Life of Pi], the decision to paint in the first person seems a stroke of genius.”
– The Times

“[Torjanac’s] shimmering, otherworldly art doesn’t do what it shouldn’t: it doesn’t supplant the images of the book inside your head, but somehow enhances them. (This is a close approximation to magic.) If you haven’t read Life of Pi, read this edition. If you have read Life of Pi, read it again. This edition.”
– The San Diego Union-Tribune

HR “Roman Pijev život Yanna Martela, nagrađen Bookerovom nagradom, T. Torjanac je ilustrirao raskošnim uljenim bojama, stvorivši posebno izdanje rijetke ljepote.”
– The Guardian

“Ako čovjek prolista kroz 40 ilustracija u raskošnom, novom, tvrdo-uvezanom izdanju [Pijeva života], odluka da ih se naslika iz prvoga lica čini se genijalnim potezom.”
– The Times

“[Torjančeve] blistave, onosvjetske ilustracije ne čine ono što ne bi trebale: ne nadomještaju slike iz knjige u vašoj glavi, nego ih na neki način pojačavaju. (Što je vrlo blisko čaroliji.) Ako niste čitali Pijev život, pročitajte ovo izdanje. Ako jeste čitali Pijev život, pročitajte ga ponovno. Ovo izdanje.”
– The San Diego Union-Tribune

Left: The cover of the first (UK) edition of the illustrated Life of Pi, published by Canongate Books, designed by Pentagram and illustrated by me (painted after the etching by an unknown Victorian artist).
Right: “I threw the mako towards the stern.", one of forty interior illustrations from the book.

Lijevo: Naslovnica prvoga (britanskog) izdanja ilustriranog Pijeva života u izdanju Canongate Books. Grafički oblikovao Pentagram, s mojom ilustracijom (naslikanom prema bakropisu nepoznatoga viktorijanskog umjetnika).
Desno: "Psinu dugonosku odbacim prema krmi.", jedna od četrdeset ilustracija iz same knjige.

In 2006 I was chosen as the winner of the international competition to illustrate a new edition of Yann Martel’s 2002 Man Booker Prize-winning novel Life of Pi. The competition was run by Scottish publisher Canongate Books, UK newspaper The Times, Australian newspaper The Age and Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail. The illustrated edition with 40 illustrations was published by Canongate Books in September of 2007 and won first prize at the British Book Design and Production Awards 2008 in the Limited Edition / Fine Binding category.
Each illustration was painted in oils on board 50x65 cm and touched-up digitally.

2006. izabran sam kao pobjednik međunarodnoga natječaja za ilustriranje novoga izdanja romana Pijev život književnika Yanna Martela, dobitnika nagrade Man Booker za 2002. godinu. Natječaj su zajednički raspisali Škotski nakladnik Canongate Books, britanske novine The Times, australske novine The Age i kanadske novine The Globe and Mail. Ilustrirano izdanje s 40 ilustracija objavio je Canongate u rujnu 2007. To je izdanje dobilo prvu nagradu na British Book Design and Production Awards 2008 u kategoriji Limited Edition / Fine Binding.
Svaka ilustracija naslikana je tehnikom ulja na drvenoj podlozi 50x65 cm te je digitalno dorađena.

Left: “Lord, avert their eyes from me, I whispered in my soul.”
Right: “I quite deliberately dressed wild animals in tame costumes of my imagination.”

Lijevo: "Bože, svrni njihove oči s mene, molio sam iz dna duše."
Desno: "Namjerno sam divlje zvijeri odijevao u pitome kostime svoje mašte."

Life of Pi is a fantastic tale about a sixteen-year-old Indian boy Pi Patel who survives 227 days after a shipwreck, while stranded on a boat in the Pacific Ocean, with a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.
Pi has a very strong belief in God, so the boy practices three religions – Hinduism, Christianity and Islam – which helped him survive in such peril circumstances.

Pijev život je fantastična priča o 16-godšnjem indijskom dječaku Piju Patelu, koji preživi 227 dana u čamcu za spašavanje nakon brodoloma u Tihom oceanu, s bengalskim tigrom od 200 kg po imenu Richard Parker.
Pijeva vjera u Boga vrlo je snažna te dječak prakticira tri religije – hinduizam, kršćanstvo i islam – što mu pomogne preživjetii u tako opasnim okolnostima.

Left: “There goes our lunch."
Right: “You can turn that off.”

Lijevo: "Ode naš ručak."
Desno: "Slobodno ugasi taj kasetofon."

Life of Pi is a first-person narrative, so I decided to paint all the illustrations from Pi’s perspective, as seen through the main character's eyes. Aside from the idea of involving the reader more on a visual plane, my intention was not to affect the reader's own image of Pi, so the boy's face is never shown – all we see are his hands and feet. I thought this device was appropriate because Yann Martel never described Pi. “It’s irrelevant what Pi looks like, as it is irrelevant how any of us looks like”, says Martel.

Pijev život je priča u prvome licu, stoga sam odlučio naslikati sve ilustracije iz Pijeve perspektive, onako kako ih vide oči glavnoga junaka. Osim što sam nastojao dodatno angažirati čitatelja na vizualnoj razini, namjera mi je bila ne zadirati u čitateljevu sliku Pija, stoga se dječakovo lice nikad ne vidi – sve što vidimo njegove su ruke i noge. Ta mi se zamisao učinila primjerenom, budući da Yann Martel nikad nije opisao Pija. “Nebitno je kako Pi izgleda, jednako kao što je nebitno kako bilo tko od nas izgleda”, kaže Martel.

Aside from the UK, the illustrated Life of Pi with my illustrations has been published in 10 other countries.

Osim u Velikoj Britaniji, ilustrirano izdanje Pijevog života s mojim ilustracijama objavljeno je u još 10 zemalja.


USA / SAD	Canada / Kanada	Israel / izrael

Taiwan / Tajvan	Hungary / Mađarska	South Corea / Južna Koreja

Croatia / Hrvatska	Slovenia / Slovenija	Germany / Njemačka