» WHAT IF I AM YOU

WHAT IF I AM YOU

[EN]

Type: book (architectural graphic novel)
Status: completed
Year: 2020
Author: Vika Pranaitytė
Designer: Vika Pranaitytė
Soundscapes: Kaunas 3022
Publisher: self published
Printed: Balto print
ISBN: 978-609-475-568-2

WHAT IF I AM YOU is an architectural graphic novel created by architect Vika Pranaitytė.
The book takes the reader to a mysterious utopian city whose structure turns into a symbolic theater: all units of its mechanism act as separate stages for magical and cult rituals. Day by day, while following the regulas some of the people living in repeated cycles start to feel that something is missing. Is every utopia truly doomed to fail?

101 architectural drawings and illustrations.
224 pages of deep blue surreal spaces of melancholia.
Outer and inner.
Physical and spiritual.

Visual book contains sound version (every chapter of the book has its own soundtrack) created by Kaunas 3022:
https://soundcloud.com/kaunas-3022/sets/what-if-i-am-you

Exerpt form the book:

A conversation between an illusionist and a child

– Imagine a world covered by a mist. Such a dense one that it seems there is nothing more in it, – said the illusionist.
– What a sad world, – the child gloomed.
– I would say it’s more melancholic. But... Maybe… Something is there anyway, – the illusionist paused, – a structure floating above the mist by itself. A tower.
– Like Babel? – the child wondered.
– A bit similar, but this one was finished.
– So, what is wrong with it?
– First of all, it‘s unknown why the tower appeared in the mist. Secondly, the roof of the tower is full of people.
– Strange tower and strange people.
– Imagine then, that these strange people while living on that strange roof play a game. Some of them have beds or sofas, where they can lay; others have armchairs or stools, where they can sit; and the rest have nothing, so they stand all the time.
– Insanity!
– The game doesn’t end there, – continued the illusionist, – it has a goal: everyone has to preserve it’s position or try to get a better one.
– Why don‘t they just get down the roof? – the child did not understand.
– You see, over the years people forgot how they found themselves there and started to play the game. Moreover, they got frightened by that weird mist, so it was easier to live without questions. But you know what?
– What?
– One of them stepped to the edge of the roof and jumped.
– Did he die?
The illusionist shrugged.
– No one knew what was in the mist, – he smiled.

Interview with the author:
https://sa.lt/tobulo-miesto-paieskos-architekturineje-grafikos-noveleje-what-if-i-am-you/

The book can be purchased directly from the author, at the A-XY bookstore in Kaunas or at artbooks.lt.

[LT]

Tipas: knyga (architektūrinė grafinė novelė)
Būsena: įgyvendintas
Metai: 2020
Autorė: Vika Pranaitytė
Dizainerė: Vika Pranaitytė
Garsovaizdžiai: Kaunas 3022
Leidėjas: self published
Spauda: Balto print
ISBN: 978-609-475-568-2

WHAT IF I AM YOU – tai architektūrinis grafinis romanas, sukurtas architektės Vikos Pranaitytės.
Knyga nukelia skaitytoją į mistinį utopinį miestą, kurio struktūra virsta simboliniu teatru: visi jo mechanizmo vienetai tampa atskiromis scenomis magiškiems ir kultiniams ritualams. Dienomis, eidami tais pačiais ciklais ir laikydamiesi taisyklių, kai kurie žmonės ima jausti, kad kažko trūksta. Ar kiekviena utopija iš tiesų pasmerkta žlugti?

101 architektūriniai brėžiniai ir iliustracijos.
224 puslapiai gilios mėlynos siurrealios melancholijos.
Išorinės ir vidinės.
Fizinės ir dvasinės.

Vizualinė knyga turi savo muzikinę versiją (kiekvienas knygos skyrius turi savo garso takelį), kurią sukūrė Kaunas 3022:
https://soundcloud.com/kaunas-3022/sets/what-if-i-am-you

Interviu su autore:
https://sa.lt/tobulo-miesto-paieskos-architekturineje-grafikos-noveleje-what-if-i-am-you/

Knygą galima įsigyti tiesiai iš autorės, architektūros knygyne A-XY, Kaune arba artbooks.lt.