Decay, and the Art of Transformation
- Lena Goral
- Sep 25
- 5 min read
Interview with Lena Goral
1. Please tell us something about your background and your art journey so far.
I started drawing when I was a small child, and even then you could sense the horror stories that I loved so much back then. Back then, hardly a day went by without me having a pencil in my hand. But when I started school, I increasingly lacked the time and inclination to draw, and in fact it was only 15 years ago that I seriously took it up again. I never thought I would ever get a degree in illustration – I was always told that it was a dead-end career and that I should study ‘something sensible’ – but I made it. And now I work as a freelance illustrator, but of course I still put a lot of heart and soul into private art projects on the side.
2. Describe what a normal day looks like as an artist.
For me, the early hours of the morning are always the most productive time when it comes to creative work. I really appreciate the peace and quiet of the morning, as it helps me to concentrate fully on my art. I like to have a cup of tea, some music or an audiobook playing in the background. But I also have an additional part-time job, as I unfortunately cannot live on my illustration fees alone. So it can happen that I sit at my drawing table in the afternoon or evening. Yes, it's not easy, but I would never choose any other profession.
3. Can you tell us more about the theme in your art and your inspiration?
The stories of H.P.Lovecraft and E.A.Poe had a very big influence on my art. For me, it was always disturbing and fascinating at the same time to empathise with the madness of the individual characters while reading. It's hard to say whether my own characters are good or evil, but they're certainly not really mentally healthy. Following their twisted minds sometimes scares me a little myself, because I naturally wonder where these images and ideas come from. There is, of course, a general morbidity in my pictures, which can be seen in old abandoned houses, rooms or even the characters themselves; everything in my pictures is not really dead, but not really alive either, rather they seem to exist in an intermediate world. I want to show my audience in my pictures that madness, death and decay can also create images of their own dark beauty and I hope that the veil of a taboo will be lifted at least a little.
4. How does your art life impact other parts of your life?
To be honest, I don't separate my artistic life from the rest of my life. My clothing, the music I listen to, and even my home décor reflect the dream world I create in my illustrations. And the characters I create... in a way, they are self-portraits. Not in terms of appearance, but they represent my secret desires and fantasies, my dark side.
5. Could you share any difficulties and hardships you had to face in life and how or if you managed/overcame them?
Oh dear, that's very personal and, to be honest, I've never spoken about it publicly before. It's all still very fresh. Can you imagine how the man I loved literally transformed from Dr Jekyll into Mr Hyde? He twisted everything I had entrusted to him about my life, my fears, traumas, dreams and fantasies, and used it as a weapon against me. Looking back, I'm not even sure if he really liked my art or if he was just studying me like a test subject and mirroring back to me what I wanted to hear. I still haven't gotten over all this, and I never will, which makes it much worse than a normal break-up.
6. Tell us about your best experience in the art world so far.
That's something very personal. Through my art, I met the man I loved more than anything else. Finally, there was someone who understood me, someone who had similarly morbid daydreams, who was interested in the same topics. Well, that also had to do with his profession. He even looked a little like my characters. And although this man ended up doing very, very bad things to me and we are no longer in contact, I will always keep a little bit of that love in my heart.
7. Share your worst experience in the art world.
I'm used to my motives not being well received by everyone, but this time I really had to take a deep breath. That was last year in preparation for an exhibition in a local shopping centre. All artists were asked to exhibit one or two works in one of the shops. And I was literally told: Oh God, we can't exhibit your work here! You're scaring our customers away!
8. What practical advice can you give to fellow artists?
My personal advice: be brave! Dare to create what you want to share with the world! For so many years, I censored myself out of consideration for this or that, but at the same time, it hindered my artistic development. This is all over now and my artistic mind is finally free!
9. Is the artist life lonely? Please share your thoughts and experiences.
I think that varies greatly from artist to artist. My life as an artist is mostly very lonely. For example, I have never received any support from my family and very little from my friends, and many people are generally put off by the themes in my work. On the one hand, I would very much like to have someone around with whom I can share my dreams and visions. On the other hand, I love dreaming myself into a world that I don't want to share with anyone else at that moment.
10. What are you working on at the moment and are there any upcoming events you would like to talk about?
I would very much like to publish my own art book with my illustrations one day. I have no idea whether it would sell, as I still have a rather small audience, but even if I only printed a single copy for myself, I would be very happy to present my drawings in a beautifully designed illustrated book. I would also like to participate in more art events, but there aren't many here in my region, and certainly not for pictures like mine. I have many more opportunities online, and who knows, maybe something exciting will come up in the future.
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/lena_goral_art/
