Zoé Kovács is a Rotterdam based, Hungarian born illustrator who takes her inspiration from the land of fairytales and folklore from her home country. With her sharp mind she's able to completely transform the way we think of folkloric art. 

“I am Zoé Kovács, and I'm an illustrator. I am a student right now, and I like to spend my time researching, reading, and, of course, drawing.

I think my main interest is the world of fairytales and folktales, and these fantastical settings.

I think I've been fascinated by fantasy worlds since I was very young. One of the most popular children's cartoons in Hungary is literally titled Hungarian Folktales, and each episode adapts a different folktale. It's really fun and has a really unique style.

Awkward couple

On TAS I sell prints, and I also started working with wooden jewellery. 

The drawings I selected for TAS are the ones that I feel already tell a complete story on their own. At the same time, I don't want to limit the audience too much, so I like it when people can think of their own backstory when they see my drawings.

I think all of them have a little story, but I don't want to give too much of it away. I like to share my own interpretation of the backstory behind a drawing I make, but then I'm really curious to hear what other people come up with.

For example, there's the postcard with the awkward couple. There are so many different ideas about what it could mean. Some people say they hate each other, some people say they're just camera shy, or that they're uncomfortable, or that they're both drunk or something. It's really funny to hear what other people think of my drawings, and it usually doesn't upset me, even if it's very different from what I imagined, because it's just so nice to hear their creativity.

Hungarian roots

I actually became really interested in Hungarian folklore after moving away from Hungary. I would consider it a way to connect with my home, even when I'm farther away.

Once I moved away, it was almost like I was able to redefine what Hungarian folklore and folk art mean to me, because I was abroad. There were no institutions or people of authority around me telling me what to think about it. I could rethink everything about it and decide what it means to me. That was really valuable because it gave me a completely new perspective

"I would consider it a way to connect with my home, even when I'm farther away"

I'm sure this is true to some extent here as well, but folk art can get appropriated by certain groups. In Hungary, it's sometimes a problem that if you don't share certain very conservative ideas, you're excluded from what is considered to be folk culture, or you're not allowed to engage with it in a way that feels right to you. So this was a really nice opportunity for me to reconnect with it.

I think there are two aspects to it, folk art, meaning the visual world, and folklore, meaning the storytelling. I enjoy both of them, although I think I started out enjoying folk art first.

Encyclopaedia of Folk Art

I actually have this five-part, I'm not sure what to call it, kind of encyclopaedia. It's not just terms and words, it also contains a lot of folk clothing from different regions. It's organised by region, and I really love going through it and getting inspired by the different clothes.

I became obsessed with memorising which regions had which styles or fashion trends, or what silhouettes they preferred, because I never realised there was so much interesting history behind it. For example, in one region people were heavily inspired by the nobility from the Baroque era.

" I really like folk art because it gives us a way to access their thoughts"

They saw what the nobility wore in the 1600s, but of course the highest class always adopts fashion first. The villagers and peasant classes adopted those styles later.

So by the 1800s, you could see these beautiful Baroque silhouettes with big puffy sleeves, the laced vest, it's not quite a corset, and these big, beautiful skirts. It's really interesting to see how those influences translated into folk art, how people interpreted the world around them and incorporated it into their own lives in their own way. I really like that.

I think that's my favourite part about folk art. The people who created it don't really exist as individuals in our eyes anymore because their perspectives weren't recorded very much. To be honest, people back then rarely cared about documenting their inner lives. So I really like folk art because it gives us a way to access their thoughts.

Dismantling simplistic views 

I might not have mentioned this before, but my graduation research topic is about how folklore and storytelling can be used as a tool to define women's place or position within a society or community.

I've been collecting different types of folktales. Some are quite patriarchal or have very traditional and strict ideas about women, while others are the complete opposite and are really refreshing and surprising in the values they express.

I actually get a lot of messages from Hungary saying that people really like my reinterpretation of these folkloric ideas.

I try to encourage people to explore this folkloric heritage, or this collection of folklore, for themselves and discover the things they like about it, and what they can carry into their own lives. Sas

Different perspectives

I'm trying to dismantle the idea that folklore is only capable of perpetuating these super-regressive or oppressive ways of thinking. I want to bring attention to the creativity within it and show that it's a collection of so many different perspectives and ideas, and that there's really something for everyone.

This time I'm not only addressing the sexism within folklore, which I think is very important, but I also want to question the idea that we should completely give up on it and stop engaging with it, because I think it's so much more complex than that.

In short: I'm trying to dismantle these very simplistic views of folklore.

You can find all Zoé's items in her shop on The Artist Survives. TAS is an ethical vendor platform for creative makers that focusses on sharp curation, a fair price and real art by real people. 

Text & Photography by Mayke Blok