✰ RECOGNITION 
Nominated for The GiebichenStein Designpreis 2026 (Best Communication) 
ART DIRECTION & CONCEPT
Mascha Dovhusha & Calvin Tan 
ILLUSTRATION
Mascha Dovhusha
PUBLICATION & GRAPHIC DESIGN
Calvin Tan
EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY
Elle Peterka
SPECIAL THANKS
Adèle Martin, Julia Correia, Elle Peterka, Ugnė Janeliauskaitė, Yoyo Jolitz, Anna Höpfl, Prof. Andrew Gilbert, Konsum3000 Café & Hochschuldruckerei at BURG.
Between the Explosions
The book is an illustrated publication comprising five chapters and 60 illustrations. Each chapter concludes with a series of reflective questions designed to encourage readers to engage with the stories by writing down their responses. 
The project was launched in February 2026 with the aim of building a bridge between Ukrainians’ experiences of war and an international audience. An open call was issued to invite independent participants from Ukraine to share, anonymously, their personal memories, stories and reflections on the Russian-Ukrainian war between 2014 and 2021. A Google Form was created to collect these accounts, ensuring the anonymity of the participants and preventing direct contact between the contributors and the project leaders, in order to protect their privacy. 
Following the selection of five stories, the development process began. The texts were first translated into English and divided into individual narrative segments. Based on this analysis, Mascha created a series of illustrations, developed the book’s visual language and character designs, selected graphite and charcoal as her primary drawing materials, and edited the artwork digitally. In the next phase, Calvin focused on designing the cover, the overall layout and the composition of the publication, including the typography and the event poster.
The value of the project lies in promoting historical and cultural dialogue between Ukraine and the international community. By utilising the universal visual language of illustration, the book fosters a deeper understanding of individual experiences of war whilst simultaneously strengthening empathy and international solidarity. The anonymity and independence of the contributors preserve the authenticity of their testimonies and enable readers to engage directly with first-hand accounts rather than with second-hand narratives. By focusing on the years 2014–2021, the publication also draws attention to a period of the Russian-Ukrainian war that received significantly less international attention than the large-scale invasion of 2022.
In preparation for the public reading and book launch on 17.06.2026. Two stories from the main collection were printed separately and bound into a booklet. In addition, around 40 promotional items were distributed around the Design and Art Campus of BURG to publicise the upcoming event.
All components of the publication were printed in collaboration with the print workshop at Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design. Approximately 50 copies of the book were bound by hand using the Coptic stitch method.
Following the completion of a print run of 50 copies,
a public reading and book launch took place at the ‘Konsum 3000’ café. The event also included a fundraising campaign (Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation for the State Emergency Service of Ukraine) in aid of Ukraine. 
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