Imre Sofalvi is a Hungarian artist living in Pécs, where he studied art at the University of Janus Pannonius. He creates drawings, paintings, and collages that tell stories, supplementing the familiar image of the classroom illustration with the fantastical in a unique collection of risograph, serigraph, and mixed media prints embracing the bizarre. These creatures are not just creations but Imre’s closest friends and companions with whom he engages in dialogues, sharing his secrets. He has a deep appreciation for texture, and is constantly in pursuit of achieving the ‘great balance’.

Hi Imre! Could you tell us a bit about the meaning behind this exhibition?
It’s a kind of skit – a magnified presentation of errors; a slightly distorted presentation of reality designed to amplify and expose those errors. It’s like a curved mirror which makes fun of how innovative and stupid human beings can be in a very short time period. It’s a slice of this time period, mixed with memories, and impulsive emotions. The figures are also my story tellers. These animals and creatures are the puppets who transform my voice into this weird language.

What would you say is your favourite work in the exhibition?
I have many favourites but if I had to choose I guess it would be deer. I think he was the first member of this crew – my first love. On my website, it is written beside his image:

“…I woke up. [There] was nobody around on the 7th November. I looked down from the balcony from the 5th floor and I knew that he was different. I miss your company…”

The deer was the first piece where I realised that this way of creating helps me to feel comfortable to talk about the actual feelings. This was also the first time I worked with this material (vintage maps). The map opened a new dimension to the latest ideas that I’m working on right now.

How would you describe your creative process?
The creative process is always different, but there are still many similarities between the events. Proven technical solutions creep back into the creative process. The choice of topic changes, but the tone rarely does. These works are mostly sentimental, evoking the spirit of old times, often subconsciously. The choice of materials used is as important [as the subject], as experimenting with materials often leads to unknown outcomes which I then incorporate. Lately, I’m re-cooking [my works] digitally and then releasing them again – I think the experiment itself is the most exciting part.

What have been the biggest inspirations on your practice?
One of my first favourites was Georges Braque. I remember from my childhood, we had a big book with his paintings and I was fascinated. Later, in school, I got very obsessed by Dadaism and the inspiring members of this period; Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp or the poet Tristan Tzara. Writers like Sándor Márai and Attila József are still my guides and probably always will be.

What keeps you motivated to create?
What keeps me motivated? Hard to tell. I guess it’s my inner voice that makes me want to tell a story in a different way to what people are used to. Also, observing if my ‘language’ can be understood by others. Sometimes this voice is louder, sometimes it’s almost disappearing. There are ups and downs, of course, but there is nothing more valuable for me than when someone resonates with the things I’m doing.

Do you have any advice for young or beginner artists?
My advice for beginners is to spend time alone, isolated, lost in their own thoughts. Travel to unknown places. Read a lot. Be prepared to have the media ready if inspiration comes knocking the door.

Find out more about Imre’s work on his Instagram or website. ‘Fantastic Plastic’ is on show at Six Foot Gallery from 10th to 24th January.