ABOUT

I am a reportage illustrator and artist based in Poland and the UK. My work concentrates mostly on observation (outward, or inward), which I relay through art and writing.

 

I graduated from the BA and MA courses in illustration at the Manchester Metropolitan University, where I also worked as a teacher for a number of years.

 

I now work as a freelance illustrator. In reportage, my speciality is speed drawing and capturing people ‘in action’. I am interested in performing the drawing as a form of sport, so I gladly join into the actions I draw. A good example is my long-term project capturing those who meander through the subterranean cave systems. The drawings are often created while lying face down in a tight muddy passage, or while suspended on a rope, with a black chasm sinking below. Usually, the more difficult circumstances to draw in, the better. I like how the pressure of creating a reportage drawing makes you let go of all pre-conceptions about what a good drawing is and forces you to allow your subconscious to do the work.

 

All that said, I also like to draw when nothing happens. It makes you observe things beyond the obvious, notice certain patterns and repetitions. During the COVID lockdown, I’ve spent 60 days observing, drawing, and writing about the events taking place outside my window, which I compiled into a book. This was largely inspired by the master observer, Georges Perec, and his book ‘An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris’.