Dawid Planeta, the artist that illustrates his battle with depression

2 min read

Polish artist and graphic designer Dawid Planeta, in his series of grayscale illustrations, summons gigantic beasts placed in a mysterious and unknown land.
Titled “Mini People in the Jungle”, artworks explore the artist’s personal experience with depression, visualizing his mental journey through dark moments.
The same Dawid Planeta explains, “It’s a story of a man descending into darkness and chaos in search of himself.”

A small man appears in the series, perhaps the artist himself, wandering through the fog-filled labyrinth, bravely facing the disturbing jungle animals whit their glowing eyes that illuminate the darkness.

Creatures that seem to be guiding him through the deep jungle, “to find his inner strength, find the light and come back with it.” He also explains: “When he knows who he is, he goes there again, this time without fear. He goes there because it’s a part of who he is. It’s a part of human nature you can’t ignore. You need to know all parts of life, dark and bright.”

Despite the difficulty of fight against depression, Dawid Planeta managed to channel his feelings into creativity. “Depression—it’s not easy to deal with, but when you try, you can stop thinking about it as a weakness and turn it into something brilliant. That’s what I aim to accomplish with my art. Things I’m trying to depict are dark, mysterious and frightening, but if you look closely, you will find excitement, passion and joy. Just open your mind and see.”