Trust believes that “comics may prove to be a tricky medium because of their highly formalised nature. Storyline imposes a set of forms of expression and generates a flood of images”, which is why it can be presented in a range of modes of artistic expression, and not solely by means of comics. When exhibiting his works, Trust shows enlarged comic strip frames, which – as he claims himself – become autonomous pictures, thus changing the impact made on the audience – as if they were starting to live a different life.
As an artist, Truściński is mostly interested in creating unreal worlds. What his works have in common are surreal, oneiric, and fantasy themes. He is valued primarily for his excellent technique, apposite use of the medium he applies to his work, the ability to tell stories with the use of images, and a very distinct style. The artist does not fear to experiment and combines various techniques. His graphics are evocative and immersed in darkness. They carry a heavy emotional charge. For this reason, his dynamic drawings are extremely expressive and become embedded in one’s memory for long, giving rise to anxiety and fascination.
Truściński has created several comic book compilations, including Trust: Historia Choroby (Trust: History of Disease, self-authored), Komiks Wa-wa (W-wa Comic Book, written by Alex Kłoś and Tomasz Kwaśniewski), Najczwartsza RP: Antylista Prezerwatora (The Most Fourth RP: Preserver’s Anti-list, written by Tobiasz Piątkowski), and Tymczasem (Meanwhile, written by Grzegorz Janusz). Meanwhile was published - also in English - on the occasion of Poland assuming presidency of the EU. Trust’s comics have been encompassed in the most famous comic anthologies published in Poland. What is more, Trust was an initiator and artistic director of some of them. The most essential ones are Komiks kontra AIDS (Comics vs. AIDS), Najlepsi młodzi rysownicy (Best Young Comics Artists), Wrzesień: Wojna narysowana (September: The Drawn War), Człowiek w probówce (Man In a Test Tube), and 44 – a comic anthology about the Warsaw Uprising.
Truściński is the artistic director of and a juror in a competition held annually by the Warsaw Uprising Museum, for which he also painted a mural. He took part twice in the project City Stories - a series of workshops organised as part of Międzynarodowy Festiwal Komiksu i Gier w Łodzi (The International Festival of Comics and Games in Łódź), which have resulted in international comic anthologies being compiled. Occasionally, Trust also holds comic workshops for young artists.
Przemysław Truściński, work presented at the ‘Unreal World’ exhibition, Centrum Kultury Zamek we Wrocławiu (the Castle Culture Centre in Wrocław) Truściński makes graphics and paintings, and works as an advertisement artist. He is the author of the design of Andrzej Sapkowski’s protagonist, Wiedźmin (The Witcher), for a computer game about his adventures. On his website trusthead.com, Truściński used a point-and-click cursor interface, similar to those found in games. Moreover, he worked as a comics artist for dailies and magazines such as Playboy, Gazeta Wyborcza, Machina, Newsweek, and Fakt. Wyborcza published – among others – his comic strips with interviews with politicians. He created ads for Pepsi, Radio PIN, and Nescafe. He designed club interiors and film sets. He is also a book illustrator; Czerwona mgła (Red Fog) by Tomasz Kołodziejczyk is the book he has illustrated most recently.
Truściński has taken part in more than 100 national and international exhibitions, including those held in Łódź, Warsaw, Gdańsk, Jelenia Góra, Angoulême, Tokyo, Berlin, Frankfurt, Moscow, and Paris.
The artist plans to put together Magazyn Mięsa Sadyba turboproroka Ezechiela (Turboprophet Ezekiel’s Sadyba Meat Magazine), a comic book compilation with mystical motifs about Warsaw, and a series of plastic sculptures in urban space, for example on the banks of the River Vistula. Spatial forms are to allude to the worlds Truściński creates in his graphics. Moreover, Trust intends to create a series of photographs with the use of an iPhone. It is also possible that the artist will release an album of projects that he will never have enough time to carry out.
Truściński’s artistic and animation accomplishments were awarded with Srebrny Krzyż Zasługi (Silver Cross of Merit).
Written by Łukasz Chmielewski, August 2013
Translation: Małgorzata Pachoł, November 2013
