Ursa Minor
An Artist’s Book
2025
This book tells the story of a she-bear named Mashka who lived with my great-grandfather’s family in the Chukotka village of Chaibukha in the 1980s. Hunters, having shot a large bear, brought the tiny bear cub—no bigger than two palms—out of the taiga. My great-grandfather and great-grandmother took the cub in, and so Mashka grew up, becoming part of the family alongside the dogs and thechildren, among whom was my own mother.Through my great-grandfather’s photographs and my grandmother’s narrative, Mashka in this book grows from a tiny star cupped in great-grandfather’shands. At five years old, the bear reached adulthood and could no longer livealongside humans. This book is a metaphorical tribute to her and to the difficult choices people are sometimes compelled to make. In the end, Mashka becomes the Ursa Minor constellation.
144 pp.
200×100 mm.
Hardcover,
open spine
Typefaces: Avenir Next Regular, Cochin
Cover paper: Luke Pack dark blue 110 g/m2
Print run: 50 copies
