Sounds of Resistance
I redesigned Roxane van Iperen's The Sisters of Auschwitz. I explored how the emotions and main themes of the story could be translated into a physical book experience, while keeping the original text.
01 Challenge
The book tells the story of Jewish sisters Janny and Lien Brilleslijper, who helped many people hide during the Second World War. Their story is about fear and loss, but also about courage, love and the strong bond between the sisters. My challenge was to keep every word of the original novel, while changing how the story was presented and experienced.
02 Approach
One moment in the story stayed with me: Eberhard, Lien's partner, sends a secret message through sheet music to help save a child. This inspired me to turn sheet music into the book itself. I printed the full text of the novel directly onto the music sheets of Mensch, durf te leven, a song mentioned in the story as a symbol of hope. Then hung the pages from barbed wire to create a small and uncomfortable space, while the music still represented hope, strength and connection.
03 Outcome
The final result is the complete novel presented as a physical installation instead of a traditional book. By combining the text, music and barbed wire, the design shows both the cruelty of war and the courage and hope found within the story.
Concept development
This section shows how the project developed from the first ideas and research into the final concept. It brings together my notes, visual explorations and concept development.
