Help Center
Privacy
about Alevtina & Tamara
[finished]
[finished]
Alevtina & Tamara is an illustrated work of visual fiction built from a cycle of dark, surreal fairy tales. Drawing, calligraphy and text form a single narrative language, exploring transformation, fear, memory and the inner structures through which a person encounters the world.
230 pages · 100+ illustrations · Edition of 300
about Alevtina & Tamara
My very first printed novel-artbook.
2024 self published
300 copies
Unique illustration +60 euro
2024 self published
300 copies
Unique illustration +60 euro
120
€
€
Reviews
"Certain cultural outlets are calling it a collection of “noir fairy tales”; others call it a graphic novel. Neither description is wrong, exactly, but neither really captures the essence of this surrealistic, horrific, old-time Russian Grimm-tales volume."
Peter Watts
"A beautifully strange, unsettling, and excellently rendered work that showcases a skilled narrative artist in full command of their craft."
Shaun Tan
Release
Self-published 2024
300 numbered copies
300 numbered copies
Hardcover book
230 pages
100+ illustrations
100+ illustrations
Genre
Noir fairy tales
An illustrated artifact in five circles
An illustrated artifact in five circles
"During the nights, Alevtina and Tamara gazed into the sky. There are no stars; they awaited the Mother. Sometimes, the Mother would come, remain silent, walk around a bit, and then leave. Sometimes, she would offer some trinket. The women would greet her and then go to sleep. The goat was pleased — the wolves wouldn’t come out of their dens for a while longer."
Five Circles of the Labyrinth
The book is structured as a labyrinth of five circles. Each circle marks a different stage of the journey and changes the way the world, its characters and its symbols are perceived.
Birth
The beginning inside chaos. Alevtina, Tamara, Lyonka and Mother appear in a world without clear direction, searching for something stable to hold on to.
Worm
The first confrontation with fear. The world becomes hostile, distorted by doubt, withdrawal and the desire to disappear.
Eclipse
A point of collapse. Previous structures fail, forcing the characters to face the consequences of remaining inside the same patterns.
Freedom
A period of uncertainty, sensory experience and reflection. New possibilities appear, while their meaning is still unclear.
Amber
Experience settles into a new internal order. The fragments accumulated throughout the journey begin to form a coherent whole.
Symbols are hidden throughout the book. Not all of them are meant to be found on the first reading.
The book is structured as a labyrinth of five circles. Each circle marks a different stage of the journey and changes the way the world, its characters and its symbols are perceived.
Birth
The beginning inside chaos. Alevtina, Tamara, Lyonka and Mother appear in a world without clear direction, searching for something stable to hold on to.
Worm
The first confrontation with fear. The world becomes hostile, distorted by doubt, withdrawal and the desire to disappear.
Eclipse
A point of collapse. Previous structures fail, forcing the characters to face the consequences of remaining inside the same patterns.
Freedom
A period of uncertainty, sensory experience and reflection. New possibilities appear, while their meaning is still unclear.
Amber
Experience settles into a new internal order. The fragments accumulated throughout the journey begin to form a coherent whole.
Symbols are hidden throughout the book. Not all of them are meant to be found on the first reading.
Standard edition
€120
- Hardcover, 230 pages
- Over 100 illustrations
- One of 300 numbered copies
A clandestine tome of noir fairy tales. No name, no title, no price on the cover — only the image.
Choose this copyArtist edition
€180
- Everything in the standard edition
- An original drawing on the first page
- Ink, pencil or watercolour, never repeated
The same book, marked by hand. One creature, drawn by hand, lives only in your copy. See the marked copies below.
Choose the marked copy
Marked copies - creatures that already found their owners
Ducky on a rocket
Dinosaurs
Nosferatu
Mermaid
Biomorph
Siren
Original Illustrations
Before the book, there were the drawings. Ink, pencil and watercolour on paper: the hand-made originals behind the pages, later refined digitally for print.
Each one exists in a single copy and carries what print cannot: the pressure of the line, the texture of the paper, the traces of the hand.
For collectors of rare and singular objects, some originals are available.
Each one exists in a single copy and carries what print cannot: the pressure of the line, the texture of the paper, the traces of the hand.
For collectors of rare and singular objects, some originals are available.
All rights are reserved by Dmitrii (Skolzki) Khuzin. Photographer Anastasia Fainberg.
All text, photo, and video materials belong to the author.
Please do not use them in commercial projects.
All text, photo, and video materials belong to the author.
Please do not use them in commercial projects.
