SEVEN CIRCLES

THE STORY OF DAVID LENGA
Graphic novel based on the testimony of David Lenga,tracing his deportation to Auschwitz-Birkenau and survival, developed through the L’Tamid (לתמיד) Project in continuation of a model originated by The Righteous Conversations Project (RCP)
Publication pending 220 pages | Graphite on paper | Sand on glass | India ink | 8.5 × 11 in | 22 × 28 cm
David Lenga “I was born in Łódź, Poland, on December 3, 1927, into a large Orthodox Jewish family. My parents, Abraham and Sarah Lenga, lived a more modern Orthodox life than my grandparents. I had a younger brother, Nathan, four years my junior. The first language we were exposed to was Yiddish — it became my and my brother’s mamma-loshen. My loving parents took us on summer vacations each year. I was an outgoing boy, surrounded by many close friends. All this came to an abrupt end on September 1, 1939. I was only 11 years old when Hitler’s army invaded Poland.”

ProCESS

The graphic novel Seven Circles, based on the Holocaust survival testimony of David Lenga, was developed by Ruah Edelstein and Masha Vasilkovsky (Lumen Animae Studios) in collaboration with students at the College of the Canyons (Valencia, California).
In the spring of 2017, an interview with David Lenga was arranged in a studio setting, where students in Masha Vasilkovsky’s Storyboarding class met with him directly. From this material, a narrative for the book was developed by Ruah Edelstein and Masha Vasilkovsky. Students chose the parts of the story that resonated most, developing them into visual form over the course of the semester.
This work grew from earlier collaborations with Holocaust survivors, in which students participated in the creation of animated documentary films based on direct testimony. ←
For the first time, the process extended into the form of a graphic novel. By the end of the semester, students had produced a substantial body of hand-drawn pages. Postproduction continued at Lumen Animae Studios over the course of almost two years. The work included editing, lettering, formatting, and the creation of the remaining chapters of the narrative, developed through hand-drawn and sand-on-glass techniques. An understanding with the students and the college allowed for in-studio revisions and completion of the work. Student drawings were preserved wherever possible, while some images were refined or newly created to support the clarity and continuity of the narrative.
The project is now complete and currently under consideration for publication.
First draft review — class discussion with art director Ruah Edelstein

SEven circles

GRAPHIC NOVEL SELECTED PAGES

David Lenga was 17 when he was deported to Auschwitz in 1944.In 2020, he returned after 75 years for a memorial ceremony.
Photograph: Wojtek Radwanski/AFP via Getty Images

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