The Forbidden Temple
Originally created for the 'Fairytale' Blankspace Project – https://blankspaceproject.com/
The Forbidden Temple by Natalie Baker and Alice Labourel
Our brief was to write a short story based on the theme 'Fairytale' and create five illustrations to support the words. For Alice, it all began with a trip to Vietnam. She filled empty pages in a notebook with beautifully intricate sketches of rooftops, mountains, people tending to their crop. Tiny etchings of wild trees, traditional lanterns and mythical creatures. Her travel journal was spilling with life and growing into a story, a fantasy world – I had to take notice.
Our story began with a tree. This tree had thick roots and menacing eyes like little red rubies. Then a character, the protagonist. Her name is Little Chau and she took over my daydreams as I tried to understand her and learn the depths of her mind, her fears and desires. We then built a world for Little Chau. I then wrote down the bones of my story – I fleshed it out later. This is how I tend to write. I start with an idea or an image and just let the words flow organically. There is a sort of rhythm that occurs. Some stories have a strong, thumping beat, and others are more fluid and effortless. Words appear and then they disappear. It's a dance.