Work on paper · 2025
Manuscript Between Worlds
“Manuscript Between Worlds” is a work by Slava Romanenko in which an imagined ancient manuscript tears open to reveal a portal into a vivid, multicoloured cosmos.
| Artist | Slava Romanenko |
| Year | 2025 |
| Medium | Acrylic paint |
| Support | Paper |
| Format | A3 |
Idea and image
About the work
In this work, Slava brings together the image of an imagined ancient manuscript and the vastness of space. The lower half of the sheet is filled with invented signs and a round blue seal. Above it, the manuscript appears to tear open, revealing a vivid cosmic space dotted with stars.
Slava developed the central idea himself: the manuscript is not simply a page covered in writing, but a portal to other worlds. The pale surface of the paper and the intense colours beyond it form two contrasting spaces, joined by the torn opening.
A personal choice
Space as Slava imagined it
Slava used many colours for the cosmic background because he found it more beautiful that way. He imagined the drops and small dots as stars.
Composition and symbols
Details
Close-up images reveal three key elements of the idea: the seal, the opening between the manuscript and space, and the multicoloured, star-filled background.
The original idea
Making the work
The main choices Slava described after completing the work.
01
Original concept
The manuscript as a portal
Slava developed the idea of an ancient manuscript that opens into space himself. He made the work at home in 2025.
02
Composition
Two spaces on one sheet
Slava placed the manuscript in the lower half of the sheet and the cosmos above it. The uneven torn edge became both a boundary and a passage between the two spaces.
03
Invented script
Signs created from imagination
The signs do not belong to any real writing system. Slava invented their forms himself as part of an imagined ancient manuscript.