Project: Parnas— a scene from the Holocaust
Client: Periplaneta Books, 2022
Book Cover Design

On the book cover we decided to feature the “Confrontation” scene, an event set right at the climax of the storyline. Parnas —the main character of the book and leader of Piza’s Jewish community— instead of surrendering, decided to stand up to the Nazis who where abominably torturing him. It is an enlightening event for the main character of the book; moments before his death, he defies the Nazis, challenges his phobias, and contests his subjective truth.

Within such moments of profound enlightenment, one is usually distanced from the unfolding events, viewing the situation from an unusual vantage point; the observer becomes the observed. For this reason, the confrontation scene has been illustrated as an overhead shot, highlighting the profundity of the experience. Such laid open truth, appears through the most essential lines, clear-cut forms, and high contrasting colours, with references to the German Expressionist films and the art of collage. The unusual viewpoint aims to grab the readers’ attention and also hint to the equally unusual take on the Holocaust by a psychoanalyst.

Photographs by Danai Issaris @danailama