Roman Klonek at Kemistry Gallery

Roman Klonek at Kemistry Gallery

23 April, 2009
by: Katuschka

What is it about those foreign cartoons from your childhood that came on at erratic times in the afternoon on ye olde Channel 4? From Sylvain Chomet's masterful The Old Woman and the Pigeons  (which had me simultaneously in awe and confused as a young 'un), to Italian Mr Rossi, Danish Moomins or the slightly less masterful, Swedish Pingu (yes some people I know found this eerie).

These sombre, language-neutral trips into the darkened corners of the uncanny – a world away from sparkle-eyed princesses and mutant amphibians – are the ones guaranteed to bubble up from your subconscious. Whether it's the classical scores, bobble-headed pigeon people or just the plain old weirdness of it all, it's probably the askew highly stylised animation – often flavoured by unfamiliar cultural mores – which really makes them stick.

Roman Klonek's new doozy of a show at Kemistry Gallery conjures the same sense of warped European childhood with his animation-inspired illustrations. Klonek's series of woodcuts are influenced by Eastern European cartoons, with shades of Rodchenko, constructivism, manga, Soviet propaganda publications, comic book art and more than a fleeting resemblance to the Russian Itchy and Scratchy – Worker and Parasite. Much like artists such as Gary Baseman and Brandi Milne, Klonek has created a cast of adorably cheeky and troublesome characters – from cats in hats and Bauhaus-style square ducks to potato-nosed humanoids – who frolic in and out of bizarre situations.

Bears on road-trips, cats running gossip booths and ducks with lightning eyes are portrayed in muted oranges and greens, in a vivacious display of Ren and Stimpy-esque bonkersness. In I Know Secrets About You and Gossip, Klonek introduces the dark undertones of Soviet society: cowardice, rumour and informing on friends and neighbours. The tactic is similar to that of Maus: viewing blatant human rights violations through the filter of cartoon creatures does not denigrate the message, but makes it saleable to the masses (a kind of reverse propaganda) and conveys it in a simple and empathetic way. Klonek also shows gas-shortage car sharing in Auf Zum Strand and the appropriation of Western liberties, clothing and ideology in Hey Guys I'm Back.

Despite the insinuation of a serious message, the joy of Klonek's work is its childishness, the silliness and humour of his critters. The woodcut presentation and floating Cyrillic phrases bestow a certain artistic authenticity on the pieces and the clean modern lines and frenetic composition give a hyper energy to the narratives, making this perfect fodder for kids' books or cereal packets (Klonek has done children's illustration work previously). When you have Domokun-style monsters chasing buses down a street and birds asking to be let in to the 'Yey-tree', mercifully little navel-gazing is required. Klonek has achieved an ideal balance between silly, cute and relevant; engaging in a fashionable theme and drawing the viewer into his unique imagination.

Roman Klonek is at Kemistry Gallery until 30.05.09

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Katuschka