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Slawomir Czajkowsk aka Zbiok, (b. 1982, Zielona Góra). His artistic journey began with a deep dive into the world of graphics at the Institute of Fine Arts, followed by a more focused exploration of painting at the Institute of Art and Visual Culture at the University of Zielona Góra. In 2006, he graduated with a diploma in painting under the mentorship of the esteemed professor Ryszard Woźniak.
Zbiok’s artistic canvas extends beyond the traditional gallery walls. He’s a renowned muralist, illustrator, and curator, with a keen eye for the intersection of art and urban spaces. Together with Joanna Stembalska, he co-founded the international series “Out of Sth,” a platform dedicated to showcasing art in the heart of Wrocław since 2008. His documentary film,released in 2011, offers a captivating glimpse into the world of urban art.
Zbiok’s artistic style is a fusion of pop culture symbols and thought-provoking commentary. His works often delve into themes of violence, social tensions, and intolerance, presented through a lens of pacifism and anarchy. Inspired by the post-graffiti movement, Zbiok’s creations are characterized by their striking visuals and impactful messages.
At the core of Zbiok’s artistic pursuits lies a fascination with the human figure and its entanglement in societal conflicts. His symbolic scenes are frequently accompanied by short, punchy slogans or witty slang comments, adding a layer of humor and intrigue. In recent years, he has joined forces with Karolina Zajączkowska to create DWA ZETA, a collaborative space for experimentation and artistic exploration.
Zbiok’s talent has been recognized with prestigious awards, and his work has been featured in numerous exhibitions and projects both domestically and internationally. His art has found a permanent home in the collections of leading cultural institutions across Poland. Today, Zbiok continues to live and work in Warsaw, leaving an indelible mark on the contemporary art scene.
Profile picture by Monika Kozak
Hi Slawomir! It’s a pleasure to sit down with you! First question that I always ask. How does a regular day look like for you in Warsaw?
Hi and thank you for a chance to write something about me ad my art. My regular day is mostly coffee, breakfast, visit at my local food market and painting, Im addicted to painting.
I’m curious. Growing up, what kind of kid were you? What did you enjoy doing, and how did you spend your time?
I grew up in the 1990s in Poland, which a few years ago switched from being a communist state to becoming a capitalist state. I do not remember it particularly well. It was a difficult time for many people, there was unemployment, frustration, it was dangerous and grey. I suspect that these difficult circumstances pushed me towards punk music, rap, graffiti and art. What kind of child was I? I was a shy kid that was living in my imaginary world. I had a low self-esteem and had problems with fitting in, a classic recipe for a future weirdo.
Alright, so when did you start to paint, and when did you start taking being an artist seriously?
When I was 15 years old I met some people who painted graffiti. They were students at an art high school and that was the first piece of the puzzle. I often went to vernissages in various galleries, I had an idea of contemporary art because my home town has a great art tradition and the municipal gallery is a nationally recognised institution showing avant-garde Polish art. Then I went to university to study art, and here an important change took place, because my graffiti career evolved, instead of painting letters I started to paint figuratively, so I moved from graffiti to what we call street-art and fine art painting.
While we’re on the subject. What is it about the airbrush that makes you prefer it over a regular paint brush?
Airbrush in my work comes directly from the wall spraying career described above. I have my own preferences when it comes to graffiti, I like the work from New York from the 70s/80s. Writers from this period often used color gradients and it is these tonal transitions that most captivate me in airbrush painting. I also really like the softness of the atomized paint in contrast to the sharp gesture of the brush.
Airbrush painting is actually part of my artistic path, I mastered this technique very quickly because I have many years of spray painting. This is the technical aspect of why I use the airbrush but there is also a symbolic aspect. I am fascinated by the soft line of the airbrush which, for me, symbolizes indeterminacy, afterimage, ephemerality. I paint some of the images in such a way as to make them look like a blurred photograph. I do this on purpose, the blurring loses detail, loses identity and in its place there is ambiguity. By painting a blurred photorealistic portrait, I stand at the point where reality meets imagination. At this uncontrolled boundary, the observer is given the sovereignty to freely interpret and rework reality.
I’m curious. These past couple of years we’ve seen major increase in the popularity of the airbrush. Especially on social media like instagram. What’s your take on that?
It seems to me that airbrush has become popular because it seems easy and flashy, and some people are probably captivated by the connotation of graffiti. It’s actually quite a difficult technique to get a good idea for, and it’s easy to fall into the trap of the kamp aesthetic, so if you’re a poor painter then airbrush won’t help you either.
The various dreamlike, surreal and distorted characters and motifs in your work. Who are they and what are you hoping to convey?
I have actually been creating distorted images since the beginning of my artistic career. Yes I confess, the portraiture, human face interests me the most. I love the nuances, the gestures of the face, the way it can convey emotions and hidden fears. The faces I paint are actually masks under which I, the artists, hide.
For me, it is a kind of game of disguise. I invent an identity for myself that tells my story in a transformed voice. By putting on the mask, I gain the courage to talk about my own emotions without restraint. In this way, I explain to myself the world around me. My images seem distorted because I am not interested in beauty. I am interested in everything that is strange, I look for the underdog. In imperfections I look for inspiration. The priority is to express myself, to be weirdo as an emanation of my own personality. This means that my art essentially serves as a way for me to work through my emotions, to reflect internally and is for me the key to understanding myself, who I want to be, what I want to do in life.
What do you look for when choosing your next protagonist? And what is it about portraiture that makes it your prefered style?
The subject of my paintings are human images. You might get the impression that I paint portraits, but this is not entirely true. What interests me in them are the shells, the images, which I process and create masks out of them. Or literally speaking, I take off their scalps, which I then dress myself.
What does this mean? My latest paintings, although maintained in a photorealistic manner, are not laurels for the proud owners of the faces I have found. The portraits I paint are masks behind which I, the artist, hide. I literally cannibalise the found images. To be able to express my own emotions, needs, desires, beliefs. I need a mask behind which to hide, free of conventions and social norms.
I read that your work depicts unfulfilled promises and a wonderful future that never happened. Can you tell me more about that?
My paintings are in fact first and foremost a record of my own discussion with myself. An attentive viewer will read a lot about my sensibility, my values and how I identify myself as an artistic person living in central Europe in 2024. Mentioning unfulfilled promises and a glorious future that never happened is a conversation between me and myself. It is an expression of my unfulfilled expectations, a kind of illusion in which I enclosed myself and felt comfortable. I am now working through this by painting pictures.
Can you walk me through your creative process, from beginning to end result?
My latest paintings are created by processing found photographs . On their basis, I prepare masks-images. What interests me about them is the possibility to control the way other people perceive us. A properly created image is like putting on a mask; other people will see the mask, what is underneath will remain hidden. By putting on a mask, we can paradoxically be our truest selves. The materials for the masks I wear should first and foremost belong to the background collection.
What does this mean? For me, belonging to the background set means above all coincidence. Faces found in this way are not posed, faces are not studied, they were caught by chance without any intention of being in the foreground, literally and figuratively.
Can you also tell me about your use of symbolism?
The symbolism of my art comes from a very intimate place that is between my sensitivity, empathy and tenderness and my physicality. How I look and how people stereotype me. My favorite metaphor that I use quite often is the portrait of a woman. As I mentioned earlier my paintings are about me about my emotions, my desires, my needs and my sensitivity. My biggest paradox is that I am a very sensitive, empathetic encased in the body of a tall, stocky guy who will scare you on the street rather than inspire sympathy. I was brought up in a masculine world, in a catholic family, I hate toxic masculinity and men’s groups in general.
For years I was denied the right to express my emotions, forced into the role of a tough guy who watches football and grits his teeth, a guy who is insecure and takes it out on the weak. I rejected that a long time ago and I love my queer element. In my paintings I talk about myself metaphorically through the image of women, firstly as my personal protest against the social roles we have given to gender. Secondly against telling women that their value depends on male validation. I hate conservatism, chauvinism, xenophobia, homophobia. I have a Punk in my heart, if I can piss off and provoke someone on this list I’m happy to do so.
Alright, so besides painting on canvases, you’re also into painting on walls. Tell ne about that. How and when did you get introduced to graffiti?
I’ve been painting graffiti for over 20 years, and now in retrospect I understand why. It was certainly never about belonging to a group, or any criminal connotations. I was fascinated by the empowerment that graffiti gives you, you walk the streets of a city, you take risks to modify the space that surrounds you. You stop being an obedient consumer-citizen and become a creator. This shaped me as an artist and built my world view. I was shy as a teenager and graffiti gives you a powerful tool for artistic expression. For some people graffiti is actually an extreme sport, for me it was crucial to be outside of society, to be on the margins. My hell is to be average, to conform to norms, to be like others. I hate groups, I value individualism. Graffiti gave me all that.
Got any cool stories you can share here?
I was caught by the police a couple of times, I almost killed myself twice. I’ve been threatened with a knife, I’ve been beaten up a couple of times too. There’s a whole lot of chaos and I know it stems from my chaotic world I grew up in. Looking for excitement and adrenaline. For me it’s a bit like observing society through a Venetian mirror, these entanglements, norms and conventions that seem repulsive. I much prefer the company of artists, drug dealers and a whole lot of weird crazy people. It is a fantastic source of inspiration for creating art.
How do you deal with creative blocks?
The creative block sometimes comes up for me. I used to have a hard time dealing with it, but now I know that I just need to relax, clear my head and do something else. For me, it’s mostly working with my muralist friends. We have a studio that paints hyper-realistic murals on entire buildings, mostly in Berlin. So my way of having a creative block is to go to Berlin for a week or two. While I’m painting I improve my technique, and when I come back to Warsaw I have a strong desire to paint my art. I also bring back some new ideas, inspirations with me. It always works.
Can you describe your studio practice for me? And are there any necessities you have to have with you or present in the studio?
Some time ago I gave up my studio and i’m working from home. I’m used to working at night so I’m deliberately not looking for a new space for the time being. I like to paint at night because nothing disturbs me. To paint, I need music and a good light source. When I have been painting for years, I try not to commit the cardinal sin of treating painting as work. It must always be a pleasure for me, if it is not then I take a break.
In a parallel universe who would you be? and what would you be doing?
I would probably be doing something creative. I can’t imagine a different life.
Can you tell me a story about a time when a connection with someone had a big impact on you?
I have thought about this question for a long time and there is such a person. The biggest influence on me is my partner Monika Kozak. We met at a very difficult time for both of us and were able to help each other. We are similarly maladjusted to society, we both despise what society considers normal. We can talk about life and art for hours and we inspire and support each other.
What qualities do you find most important in the people you choose to spend time with?
Honesty, difference, agility, individuality, passion. You can have the weirdest hobby in the world, if you can talk about it with passion then you have my attention for a long time.
Anybody you look up to?
Lots of things, artists, attitudes inspire me but I won’t point to anyone who is my idol, it stems from my worldview. I don’t like idols or idols. There are certain qualities or period in art that does me the most, which is the 1980s.
How do you approach color?
For years I have had this exercise that I do practically all the time. When I’m walking, moving around, I find an object, an element, and I think about how to paint it, what colors to use to get the color I’m interested in.
What motivates you?
As a person who has been unaccepted by peers and various environments for years, I could write that it would be a desire to prove something. Nowadays, I don’t have to prove anything to anyone, so the motivation could be an interesting conversation, inspiring people, a film watched or a song heard.
How would you describe a perfect day?
My ideal day is one in which I have time to paint, time for my partner, time to walk around and find something special.
Alright Slawomir. I always ask these two questions at the end of an interview. The first is. What’s your favorite movie(s) and why?
It’s worth knowing that I don’t have one favorite thing, an artist’s film, but I can tell you what has currently impressed me. When it comes to films I watch a lot of them, my favorite period is the late 80s and early 90s. I recently refreshed Spike Lee’s early films, She’s gonna ge it and Do the right thing, very current films. I love films that use metaphors and require the viewer to have an imagination and a broad knowledge of contemporary culture. They are often taken literally, but for me they are a multi-layered translation telling a story about the condition of society. With a great deal of confidence, I recommend the three films Liquid Sky by Slava Tsukerma, Spring Breakers by Harmony Korine and Nocturnal Animals by Tom Ford.
The second is. What song(s) are you currently listening to the most right now?
I’m really open minded if it comes to music and it’s a very important inspiration for me. What kind of genres do I listen to? Everything from electronic music, rap music to noisy guitars, but my favorite genere is 1980 post punk bands. The band that listen the most is Sisters of Mercy. When I go out I prefer rave parties.