HALYA VERHELESportfolio
Illustrator, book artist and graphic designer based in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Books, illustrations, layout, artdirection, graphic design, printed and digital matters, letterings. 'Butsia' Book Publishing house founder. For further informations, commissions or collaborative inquieries please get in touch.
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'Butsia' Book Publishing
CV 16 BOOK DESIGN & ILLUSTRATIONS FOR 'LEYLA & MAJNUN'2020
Book design project.
Illustrations and design for the Persian poem by Nizami Ganjavi about the tragic love of young people, "Leyla and Majnun". This is a popular story in the Middle East, especially in Azerbaijan, Iran, and Tajikistan. My illustrations are also based on the parallel between celestial bodies (the sun representing the man, and the moon representing the woman). The sun and the moon can never meet in earthly life, only after death, forming a concise black circle - an eclipse.
The book can also be perceived as an "endless story" of the birth of the world, love, and death, because its structure is dual. You can read it in Ukrainian (with a cover featuring the sun) and in the original language, simply by flipping the book from right to left. The illustrations are made using silk screen printing with gold and black inks at the PRINTOSTAN workshop.