Girls: the surreal domestic world of Slovak artist Martina Paukova

Slovak illustrator Martina Paukova is an artist for the internet age. By transforming pictures of mundane domesticity into eye-poppingly bright illustrated snapshots, she brings a spark to the banal corners of everyday life — far away from the glare of social media.

“I’m attracted to scenes where people are seemingly off-duty and non-performing,” Paukova told The Calvert Journal. “Sociologists say that the modern self is a person which is always performing. Especially in this day and age, when everyone’s skin is constantly out there, curated and self-published and re-posted on Instagram, I think the idea of each of us when the “on button” is finally switched off is just fascinating.”

Inspiration comes from daily life, paired with a surreal twist and squashed Paukova’s angular 2D world. “It’s a kind of coping mechanism”, says the artist, who is now based in Berlin.

Paukova’s work is now being celebrated in her major first London exhibition: Girls. The show embraces the women of Paukova’s off-beat illustrations, thriving in their own private worlds.

Girls runs at The Book Club in Shoreditch until 8 April. For more information, click here.