Illustration for Nichita Stanescu's Epica Magna 1978

Sorin Dumitrescu made this drawing as an illustration for Nichita Stanescu's Epica Magna. The way the artist uses a simple pencil on what looks like graph paper, it's all about the process, the mark-making is very evident. The drawing is like a map of a dream, where perspective seems to fold in on itself. The texture of the pencil gives a raw, almost tangible feel, and the geometric shapes create a depth that's both inviting and disorienting. Look at the array of eyes in the middle of the drawing, they are peering out from behind a veil of scribbled text, which reads like some sort of ancient code. I'm reminded of Paul Klee, who also explored the boundary between image and text. Ultimately, Dumitrescu's work invites us to embrace the ambiguity, to see the world not as fixed, but as a fluid, ever-changing landscape of signs and symbols.