Illustration for the collection of short stories by Yevhen Gutsal "In the stork village" 1969

Curator: Hryhorii Havrylenko created this illustration in 1969 as part of the collection of short stories by Yevhen Gutsal "In the stork village". It's a work rendered in ink on paper. Editor: Woah, my first thought is of intense heat and the mirage effect—you know, where the air shimmers. Curator: Indeed. Structurally, the crosshatching defines almost the entire plane, offering a visual field dense with detail. It even models a specific kind of atmospheric perspective. Notice the stark contrast of black ink against the white of the paper; it intensifies the scene, creating depth. Editor: The high horizon also throws things off, but in a cool way. That lone figure... is it me, imagining things? Maybe I’m supposed to be in that field? The effect is super disorienting. Curator: The artist strategically deploys line work. Consider the texture created. Thick and dark lines pull forward while lighter lines fade into the background. A play of form emerges in the delicate layering, giving both solidity and an illusion of movement to what seems like a limitless field. Editor: I get this quiet narrative feeling... even melancholy, like a half-forgotten dream baking in the midday sun. The repetition, like you were saying, it’s also mesmerizing in its way. A really powerful landscape despite its small scale and spare use of ink. It's crazy to think that this level of detail was achieved simply with crosshatching. Curator: Absolutely, the artwork explores the nature of graphic storytelling through abstracting the real while holding onto just enough formal representation. It invites us to question representation, how visual language affects perception. Editor: It’s one of those images that stays with you. A quiet giant whispering volumes, urging reflection even beyond what the accompanying story may originally suggest.