A Story About a Girl and Objects Hidden Inside Her Body

Liza Malyan is an artist from Moscow. In her work, she explores themes of pathfinding without clear direction or ultimate goal, the psychological experiences of embodiment, wholeness, and maturation. Liza conducts her creative search through various mediums—ceramics, illustration, photography—utilizing printmaking and applied techniques. In this piece, we showcase two striking self-published projects by the artist, where alongside text and narrative, significant attention is given to complex design structures: a fold-out book about a girl and the objects hidden inside her body, and a story about friendship with an unconventional page numbering system.

Zine «Our road»

"This zine tells the story of a shared journey with the artist's friend Rodion Pichugin from Liza’s home to that of their mutual friend. All the photographs were spontaneously taken on an old Nokia phone belonging to Liza’s father, capturing the road to and from the metro and the subway ride. The page numbers in the zine are playful, not remaining in the corner but traveling with the characters; they hide in tree branches, underfoot, or in the pattern of a coat."

Printed in risography (4 colors),

A5 format, 14 pages

2021, edition of 12 copies

Zine “My Body, Your Body”

"A fold-out book about a girl and the objects hidden inside her body. It is an attempt to illustrate anatomy from an unusual perspective; the objects inside do not replace the organs but coexist with them, metaphorically reflecting the character’s inner world and personal story. Originally conceived as a gift for Liza’s niece, the zine is dedicated to her. The "empty" white spaces on the girl’s body exist for the reader to draw their own objects inside and create their own story. The book is designed in such a way that with each turn of the page, both the girl’s posture and her inner world become more and more exposed to the reader."