Turkish artist Elif Varol Ergen creates intricate surrealist illustrations that are both grotesque and thought provoking. Her well composed (and sometimes crude) imagery, Elif illustrates idiosyncrasies of the human condition such as turmoil and abuse.
Bold graphic imagery with a limited, high contrast color palette is reminiscent of vintage signage from the 1950s, however the unsettling imagery is what visually arrests viewers. Toddlers with faces full of lolling eyes and scenes full of accusing pointed fingers are common icons within Elif’s body of work. Medium varies from pen and paint to murals, lithographs and digital illustration.
Her most recent series titled “Incognito” depicts the traumatic effects the adult world has on children and the injustice of keeping the victims anonymous. According to the artist: “The severe reflections of the traumatic and merciless worlds of adults on the bodies and souls of children raise child characters living, but not being aware of it; suffering, yet mistaking it as disappointment and embarrassed of their genders.”
