Itzik Rennert, one of Israel’s top illustrators and a senior lecturer in the Department of Visual Communication and the master’s program in design at Shenkar, has contributed to Tell Me Your Story, a breathtaking book of illustrations about childhood memories created during the pandemic in a virtual correspondence between ten pairs of Turkish and Israeli illustrators. 

Tell Me Your Story is the result of a correspondence between ten pairs of Israeli and Turkish illustrators. Each illustrator was asked to share a childhood memory with their partner and respond in turn with a visual interpretation of the story they received. The book contains twenty accounts of childhood, but beyond these accounts, the book is about the power of illustration as a medium for “meeting” at a time when physical meetings are unavailable to us for political, epidemiological, and linguistic reasons. The moment they are created, printed, and distributed, these visual worlds become as real as any other world. The book’s combination of text, illustration and testimony alongside interpretation, creates unexpected encounters.

Itzik Rennert’s illustration for Jennifer İpekel’s childhood story (photo: Itzik Rennert)

The topic of “childhood” was chosen not just as a nostalgic representation of a time in our lives that is lost forever, but as an active part of our identity that is constantly with us, evoking wonder and curiosity and inspiring us to keep exploring.
Stories are tools of empathy and communication. The book’s title is a call for more stories; this is meant to be the beginning of a wider partnership, and we hope that everyone, everywhere will join us.

The book was published by Israeli publisher Gnat Micro Press in collaboration with Turkish producers and publishers Paper Street Co; it was produced with the support of the Israeli Consulate in Istanbul.