One of the artists featured in the debut issue of RAWGUE., Dorota Sokolová from Slovakia, returns to the pages of our magazine with a new collection of line-art works.
She approaches the creative process from an intuitive mindset. “I don’t plan what comes out; it just does. Any mistakes I make are meant to be there,” the artist explains. Sokolová creates “without the expectations to impress.” The result of such a playful, unrestrained path is mesmerizing, abstract pieces that embrace chaotic balance and a Burtonesque aesthetic.
Her artworks are rich in points of interest, like labyrinths from a gothic novel or stills from a fantasy variety show. They reach into the subliminal and surreal. The fine lines connect the parts of the ink mosaic like neurons, placing the viewer right in the middle of a mad intersection.
Sokolová captivates with a remarkable and distinct style, her intricate sketches continuing to draw inspiration from the wild underbelly of euphoria, the circus, and Wizard of Oz-ean worlds. These new surrealist drawings are worlds of their own—entire stories and characters rise and set in continuous, ever-growing ecosystems packed with cryptic symbolism and noir-naive landscapes.
“What you see in my art depends on what you want to see,” the artist almost jokingly hints that a drawing sometimes carries no hidden meaning, dismissing the need for subterfuge and championing instead the idea that art, at its core, should always be truthful. “The meaning of my artwork is always changing, and it depends on how I feel,” she underlines.
Her latest pieces are a testament to truthful expression, charting a subjective and inherently personal journey to the edge of fantasy, freedom, and, one may dare say, curious wonder.
Read our “Roots” issue in full
The new theme, born as usual from what the submitted works held in common, is “ROOTS.” Within its pages, we present the artworks, creativity, and inspiration of 60 visual artists and writers from 21 countries around the world. Their diverse voices come together around a shared exploration of the return to where one belongs, the invisible threads of tradition that shape identity, and the ongoing reconnection with nature, others, and oneself.
We’re a team of writers using our craft to spotlight art in its most honest form. RAWGUE. started as a bi-monthly editorial experiment where each issue’s theme is dictated by the submitted work, thus removing editorial bias from the equation and preserving a more raw approach. We focus on all forms of poetry: written, photographed, painted, drawn, and filmed.
