Compassion

Tetiana Denysenko | Ukraine

This is a picture book about the experience of The Ukrainian War with minimum text; the story is shown mainly with the help of illustrations.

In this book, there will be no direct description of the war or the refugees. I would like to pay attention to the depiction of the feelings of a person who found herself in relative safety after experiencing stress. Millions of refugees have found refuge in other countries, but even there they feel threatened, oppressed, and even afraid. Their inner world splits when they read terrible news from their homeland and at the same time they see life, nature, and peace in the country that sheltered them. Feelings of guilt compound post-traumatic stress.

The subject of the image in the book is how a person gradually returns to a normal psychological state while accepting her or his tragic experience and new reality. The style of the illustrations is meditative, because throughout the book the main character delves into herself, reflects on her feelings, and observes nature. It is the nature of the reserve, next to which the main character found shelter, that heals her. Nature is also the mirror for the heroine through which various stages of her psychological state are metaphorically shown.


Education:
National Academy of Fine Art and Architecture (Kyiv, Ukraine)
Graduation: 2012

Published titles: 2

https://denysenko.format.com/
@denysen_kot