Home Is a Door We Carry

CONSTANTIN SATÜPO was born in 1978 in Moscow. He graduated from the University of Printing Arts, and in 2013 he moved in Berlin to study visual communication at the Academy of Arts of Weissensee. He wrote, illustrated and published several children’s books and he is also known for his works as a graphic novel author and illustrator. In 2019-2022, within the context of an art-project, he was involved into collaboration with associations helping refugees. With the beginning of Russian agression in Ukraine, he has been coming across children forced to leave their homes on a daily basis, at art events, in schools, on the streets. He wanted to tell the story of children who, at once, lost everything that was familiar to them: a possibility to go to school, meet with friends, take music classes, play football… And most importantly, their dear beloved home. Constantin lives and works in Berlin with his French wife and their children, and his multicultural family uses three languages (German, Russian and French) on a daily basis.

"Moscow-born author/artist Satüpo, who now lives in Berlin, creates vibrant spreads, favoring earthy tones, combining naïve drawings with textured cutouts, and collaging with childlike simplicity. Writing in unadorned prose, he captures the ubiquitous plight of children fleeing natural disasters, socioeconomic uncertainty, political upheaval, and—far too often—war. Fifty million kids, he notes, were displaced in 2024; kindness, he reminds us, can create welcoming safety. . . . Deftly captures the challenging uncertainty of leaving home and the eventual hope of belonging.— Kirkus Reviews"Its exquisite, atmospheric collage art evoking feelings of displacement, this empathy-building picture book focuses on refugee families around the world. Children walk with bowed heads beside their parents, or sneak a few moments of play with other children, as they head for places far away from their first homes. They imagine that their homes miss them, too; they personify those longed-for places in their minds. Wistful and lyrical, the intermittent prose balances out the tough circumstances implied in quiet threads depicting tanks and hints of violence, imbuing the everychild’s innocent wish that all will find homes in time with added power."— Foreword Reviews, Starred Review