Irina Azarenkova's book "Rats' Land" is a whimsical, light-hearted depiction of the long-tailed creatures in human situations that also serves as a metaphor for our transient, often hedonistic existence. Azarenkova's fascination with rats' complex, human-like qualities first developed when she lived in New York City. In this series, her rats are often drinking wine and leisurely enjoying life in a variety of contexts, often in tropical settings inspired by the artist's travels in Latin America. Azarenkova's observations of human nature also draw on her own background in Russia, using the rats as symbols of political, religious and aristocratic power. Though originating from difference social spheres, the often bespectacled rats display a common sophistication. Running through this book is the quest for meaning, symbolised by some of the rats' upward gaze, in search perhaps of a higher purpose... This is a special edition with illustrations by the Author printed in color.