The Garden of Earthly Delights: A Sensory Journey Through Love, Temptation, and Timeless Beauty

Sveta Kaverina’s The Garden of Earthly Delights is a celebration of the human body and its journey between the earthly and the divine. This limited edition book—only 15 copies exist—draws on archetypal imagery to depict love as an eternal narrative, beginning with Adam and Eve and repeating in every love story since. The book’s poetic visuals and tactile design reveal the timeless essence of human sensuality, earning it a place on the shortlist for the Dummy Award 2025.

​A Botanical eden in print

Kaverina’s book is a profound exploration of the human body’s journey through life, oscillating between the earthly and the divine. It invites readers to perceive love affairs as an eternal narrative, initiated by the primordial couple, Adam and Eve, and perpetuated in every love story since. Through archetypal imagery, the book unveils the timeless essence of human sensuality.​

The incorporation of pages from an old botanical book serves as a metaphorical garden, drawing a parallel to Eden. This is akin to a still life with flowers, where the artist symbolically cultivates a garden upon her bedsheets. Transparent sheets overlay inverted images of antique herbariums, rendering them ethereal and timeless. These tracing paper pages envelop almost every section of the book, featuring authentic herbarium images. They establish a connection to antique botanical books and evoke reminiscences of the paradisiacal garden.

Lahnur®: A paper that breathes​

A distinctive feature of The Garden of Earthly Delights is its use of lahnur®  paper. Kaverina was drawn to lahnur® for its textile-like quality, reminiscent of silkscreen printing. She notes, “Lahnur® is similar to textile, like silkscreen printing. It is very tactile and works wonderfully with the canvas book cover.” Olga Matveeva, co-founder of Book[e]lab and collaborator on the project, shares her initial experience: “When I first held the printed color proof on lahnur® paper, I was immediately enchanted. It still feels like paper, but with a touch that’s so alive and breathable — you can even crumple it a bit.” Lahnur® is a premium white paper known for its raw, natural feel, adding character to any printed product. Notably, it is durable, weatherproof, and recyclable, aligning seamlessly with the book’s thematic and environmental considerations.

When I first held the printed color proof on lahnur® paper, I was immediately enchanted. It still feels like paper, but with a touch that’s so alive and breathable — you can even crumple it a bit.

The book’s cover design is equally thought-provoking. Crafted from a synthetic material with a canvas-like texture, it evokes the sensation of touching snake scales, symbolizing temptation within the Eden narrative. Kaverina explains, “The print on the canvas makes the cover similar to snake skin, as the snake is also a denizen of Eden, a symbol of temptation, and temptation always takes place in a love story.” Matveeva elaborates on the design’s intent: “The cover was designed to feel intensely tactile yet slightly unsettling… This texture is a key part of the book’s narrative: a vision of a paradise garden, where not only love and Adam and Eve reside, but also the garden’s inherent dangers and temptations.”

The print on the canvas makes the cover similar to snake skin, as the snake is also a denizen of Eden, a symbol of temptation, and temptation always takes place in a love story.​

Sveta Kaverina, the artist behind this evocative work, is a visual artist whose practice delves into themes of human experience and sensuality. Her collaboration with Book[e]lab, an independent multidisciplinary project specializing in small-run editions, has been instrumental in bringing this project to fruition. Founded by Olga Matveeva and Jenia Yahina in 2020, Book[e]lab curates immersive laboratories and workshops focused on creating artist’s photobooks and zines. Matveeva, a visual artist working with photography, installation, and analogue printing processes, brings a wealth of experience to the publishing realm. Originally from Moscow, she currently resides in Belgrade, Serbia, continuing her work as an independent curator, publisher, and educator.

The Garden of Earthly Delights stands as a testament to the harmonious fusion of content and materiality, where every element, from paper choice to cover design, integrades together to enhance the narrative depth. It acts as agreat examples how thoughtful design and innovative materials can elevate the storytelling experience in artist’s books.