An Interview with
Oleksandr Shatokhin

How has your life been since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine?

Thanks to our soldiers, volunteers, diplomats, energy workers, rescuers, and incredible people in Ukraine and worldwide, I can draw, create books, make posters about the war, and at least somehow contribute to our victory. With the beginning of the war, after all the shock, fear, and hatred comes a reassessment of your life, values, and things you did not notice in peaceful life.

You value simple and mundane things and single out the concepts of motherland, state, language, and freedom as your main ones.

What was the genesis of the Yellow Butterfly? How did you start to create it? What was most the challenging aspect?

It all started with an illustration I had made before the full-scale invasion. It is a picture of a girl facing us; in the foreground, the barbed wire seems to cover the girl’s eyes with its thorns (the illustration from the book). Back then, my thoughts about the idea of the book were not clear enough. But even then, I understood it should be a wordless book about restrictions and limits on freedom, but essentially with a hopeful ending. But coming up with the plot was tricky, so I just put the idea aside. When Russia attacked Ukraine, my family and I were forced to leave our hometown of Sumy. We saw with our own eyes columns of Russian tanks and destroyed houses. We experienced evacuation through the green corridor, separation, and the entire range of emotions—all these situations set a background and ideas for the book I drew during the war.

What has been the reaction to the publishing of this book in Ukraine?

Wordless books are an unknown format in Ukraine. If publishers are familiar with this format, many readers find it unusual. But I think the feedback and reaction to the book was reasonable and brilliant. People perceived and understood the history and meaning of the book. I am over the moon about this and owe it to the Old Lion Publishing House in Ukraine for immediately agreeing to publish the book.

What do you want children (and adults) to take away from reading this book?

The primary sense of the book is hope and faith that everything will be all right, and after all the fears and horrors, the sun will come out, the sky will be blue, evil will retreat, and peace will prevail. We can stand against evil together and will definitely win.

What books or creators would you say have most influenced your work?

Not so much influenced but more inspired by the creativity of people who give me the strength to do what I like the most, draw. These are Wolf Erlbruch, Shaun Tan, Isidro Ferrer and Brecht Evens.

Interview provided with the kind permission of Red Comet Press

About the Author:

OLEKSANDR SHATOHKIN is an artist and children’s book creator who grew up in Eastern Ukraine, close to the border with Russia. After the start of the war in February 2022, his wife and young son were evacuated to Poland. They have since been reunited and are again living and working in his hometown of Sumy.

Yellow Butterfly is his second book to be published for an English-speaking audience after The Happiest Lion Cub (2022) both published by Red Comet Press.