A carp catching the reflection of the moon. Illustrator Michal Bačák on inverted pen drawing and his fish motif for Ambiente
How did your collaboration with Ambiente come about?
I've done some work for Ambiente before - illustrations for the magazine, but that was about ten years ago. Later on, together with architect Tereza Froňková and Olgoj Chorchoj studio, we created a tapestry for the patisserie Myšák. Carp is therefore another collaboration after a long time. I was approached by Tomáš Karpíšek and Studio Najbrt, which made me really happy. At a meeting in March, Mr. Karpíšek told me that I should be the third author to create the carp - after Jakub Matušek and Michal Cihlář. It seemed like a nice idea and I gladly agreed.
What was the key for you in your work?
At the beginning I needed to understand what carp actually means - for Ambiente, for Tomáš Karpíšek and for me. It's not a Christmas symbol, but a motif that should work all year round, as an expression of cultural appropriateness and tradition. That's why I wanted the drawing to be timeless.
You used your favourite technique of inverted pen drawing. What attracts you to it?
I draw with black pens on white paper, but the final form is inverted in colour. This technique fascinates me because it relates to the poetics of etchings, engravings or woodcuts, where the artist always has to think "in reverse". This formally determines the whole drawing.
And in terms of content?
I didn't want a traditional Czech carp. I was inspired more by Asian poetics. The carp I drew is "catching" the reflection of the moon on the surface with a fishing rod - although it is very stylised, abstract and geometrised. I always enjoy adding symbols and structures to illustrations that take the realism somewhere else.
The fins show almost avian elements. Is that the intention?
Birds are my favourite thing to draw, but I couldn't do the goose this time. (laughs) So I gave the carp some "feathers". And the round shape at the bottom may or may not be the moon. I leave room for questions and imagination.
How long did the illustration take to make?
I always say - a drawing can take five minutes, but it took me forty years to work my way through it.
Did you prepare multiple versions, or just this one?
One. I didn't have any sketches. It was extremely liberating that Tomas Karpíšek said: "What you turn in, we'll take." I didn't have to go through the approval process. I usually show the design to clients, but here it was free - and that's what made it great.
Your drawings are often magical, almost cosmic. Is that the case with this carp?
Yes. I love it when formal details become a surprising image when flipped into black and white. Drawing is a bit of an automatic process for me, but it's still an adventure.
Do you have a personal relationship with fish?
I don't often draw fish, I'm more attracted to birds - I'm fascinated by the fact that they are descendants of dinosaurs, and their appearance. I can just put a lot of hidden meanings into them. But with the carp, I realised that they have something in common: they don't have facial expressions. Maybe now I'll start drawing fish more often. (laughs)
Are you attracted to other mediums than illustration?
I've always considered myself more of an illustrator; I haven't studied painting, for example. But I would like to do more canvases and new techniques. Even though there will be paint on the canvas, drawing will remain the centre of my work.
