Mateusz Kołek is a Polish illustrator heavily influenced by traditional and popular art in Asia, as well as comics, early Renaissance art, Slavic legends, and Soviet sci-fi movies. For over a dozen of years, he has been collaborating with multiple Polish and international media (“Gazeta Wyborcza”, “Wysokie Obcasy”, “Newsweek”, “Przekrój”, “ESPN”, “Popular Mechanics” and more) marketing agencies, fashion brands and corporate clients.
“Things I’ve Seen But I Didn’t Have A Smartphone”
Mateusz loves to experience his solo journeys without a smartphone, as he believes that smartphones could distract one from observing what happens around them. Yet, being offline and unaccompanied does not leave him feeling lonely. Instead, he enjoys capturing moments that trigger his imagination and collecting stories to bring back home.
His affection for the anime ‘Ghost in the Shell’ and Wong Kar-Wai’s movies has led him to a fascination towards Hong Kong. Mateusz keeps visiting the city for the last three years, and he is fascinated by its variety, the coexistence of tradition and modernism, poor and rich, nature and technology. All these are what inspired him to illustrate the quasi-documentary series.
“Alone Together”
05.05 – 09.06
Cabinet of Stories 1F, 15 Staunton Street, Central, Hong Kong
