Ad.Escape Article
Repetition is the simple repeating of a single element over and over, for poets it can be a powerful literary tool, for an artist an useful stylistic choice. But for everyday humans, repetition can mean a multitude of things. For some, it is the goal, settling down, finding a job and establishing a schedule from which they can build their lives. For others it creates a routine that numbs the mind and sucks the joy out of existence. Adriana Matic however, has an unique relationship with repetition. Her art pieces' repetitive nature take simple lines and shapes that create beautiful complex motifs, all the while focusing its artist’s mind in the movement of making each stroke.
Adriana, also known as Ad Escape on Instagram, has been creating art since she was a little kid, oftentimes focusing on realistic and traditional themes. However, after entering high school she found she had little time left to spend on art, and it was at this point she began to doodle. Sitting in class struggling to concentrate, Adriana found herself scribbling endless amounts of triangles discovering a love for geometric repetition like in the piece Beyond Annoyed That This Is Not Symmetrically Perfect! Never considering it as art, it was her way to focus and understand her thoughts. When asked about how she settled on her unique style she referred to this experience stating that in some ways “it chose me”.
Often as artists and people in general it is harder to motivate ourselves to start a new project. Adriana however, finds herself in a different boat with more difficulty finishing any given piece. With her thoughts all over the place Adrianna doesn’t lack motivation but rather focus for a single work. Her process doesn’t include finite steps and allows her to jump from piece to piece, working on what is inspiring in that moment. It's what makes her work uniquely her own, creation for oneself fosters an environment of pure art. Adriana’s works are a reflection of her emotions and thoughts, by removing the pressure to complete a piece she has gained the freedom to create directly from the soul.
Outside of art, Adriana’s other passion is biology, of which she is currently pursuing a masters degree in microbiology. She acknowledges that she has always been drawn to small details especially how they are present in nature. She finds it amazing that we can see things normally invisible to the naked eye through a microscope and observe their natural complexity. This passion for biology and detail is extremely prevalent in her art. In pieces such as Circles or Dots and Under the Microscope there is a strong resemblance to how a cell appears when magnified. Not only are many of her pieces visually representative of these ideas but also the format in which she presents her art. Scrolling through Ad Escape’s Instagram you are greeted by a collection of hypnotical patterns but to click on any of the pieces is to discover something more. Many of her posts include a feature that allows for multiple images to be presented in a single post, with this she includes detail shots that allow viewers to view the image as a whole as well as the individual marks. It's almost as if we are invited to view these design’s complexity under a microscope.
Instagram is not only Adriana’s method of sharing her art but also her window into the art world. Since its launch nearly 12 years ago Instagram has proven both beneficial and problematic in the art community. While it has increased the exposure an young artist can obtain and cut out the absolute financial dependency on galleries, there was also the introduction to a new reliance on the algorithm. Adriana sympothises with these observations describing her presence on Instagram as “A love-hate relationship”. While she feels frustrated by how random the algorithm can be and the multitude of amazing artists who are overlooked, she also expresses her gratitude to the support that can be found. “Thank you for your support on yesterday's reel!” says Adrianna in one of her posts accompanied by a comment section full of appreciation for the artist and work recognizing its hypnotic qualities and calming nature. So while Instagram can present a double edged sword most of the time there is a whole community of people ready and willing to cheer you on. “I met so many lovely people and have received nothing but support and I'm more than grateful for it. Scrolling through my feed and seeing all these incredible concepts and ideas people share makes me happy.”
Beyond the algorithm social media also presents a level of fear that can come with sharing one's work. Presenting a new piece has always been a scary moment for any artist but social media has allowed for a comment section open to the world and audiences with anonymity. Ad Escape touched on this phenomenon as the most frightening aspect of the art world stating “I needed a lot of time, courage, and support to do it”. This is tied mostly to the fact she does not feel like what she does could be considered art, for her it is simply a way to calm her hectic mind and quit overthinking. It “helps me express my feelings that often I don't know how to express with words. It's my break in a day that helps me release stress.” When words aren’t enough or she doesn't know how to express her feelings Adriana refers back to her art. She wishes when asked how she is she could simply hand someone a piece and say “today I feel like this artwork”. Mental health as a whole is a major driving factor in Adriana’s art. For her the repetitive nature of mark making helps to understand her thoughts, during times when everything felt not right or normal she could still take some control over intrusive thoughts while making art. Adirana has noticed that her ability to make art can also be directly tied to her mental health, “When I was in the worst possible place with my mental health I could still draw. The moment I stopped drawing I knew I hit the lowest point. I wanted to escape that place so I sought professional help.”
Beginning in January 2021 Adrianna started therapy with antidepressants and experienced a multitude of moods and emotions. Sadness became anger then numbness, but art continued to be something she could enjoy. Having something that she once took solace in becoming a reprieve once more gave her hope for the future. “It helped me in a way that it made me believe if I can still do art, there will come a moment when others things I previously enjoyed, I will enjoy again.” In this way Adriana has a unique relationship with her work, it is not something she manipulates nor something that manipulates her, they are partners that feed off one another. She talks about allowing her art to take her where it wants to take her, allowing for experimentation and spontaneous freedom of expression. For Adrianna experimentation is a huge part of expression, much of which never appears on her page. “Trying different media, creating more traditional themes or/and creating art that suits little poems I write” are all ways in which Adriana experiments with her work. And while she pushes herself out of her comfort zone by using elements such as color in pieces like Honeybee In a Different Dimensions, It's Has Been a Frustrating Week So I Created This Weird Thing, and I Don't Know What I'm Doing Anymore, she takes the most pleasure out of doing what she enjoys with black and white ink and repetitive geometry.
In the end that is what art is for Adriana, something to enjoy. It's a break from her day and one of the rare things she doesn't have to plan, if she isn’t happy with her work there's always the next blank page. In a time when real world obligations are the priority and 24 hours is not enough in a day, the guilt of making your time productive and stress to finish everything can be overwhelming. Adrianna is prone to this anxiety and wishes she could stop time, to be able to have infinite time to work, create, sleep, and experience life. But when our days, weeks, and months are numbered we take what we can get. For Adrianna that means drawing whenever and wherever from bed to the park and airport, while watching shows or listening to music. Sometimes she has ideas pop up and starts a piece then and there so she wont forget it or she works on multiple pieces at the same time going back whenever inspired. It's the moments she gets to stop and simply create when her mind can take a break in the repetitive movements of pen to paper.
At first glance Ad.Escape’s work is a mesmerizing collection of lines and shapes that create beautiful motifs, but for Adriana they represent so much more than visually appealing patterns. They are her thoughts and feelings, a way for her to understand herself even when words aren’t enough to express it. They are her escape from the hectic world we live in, and a time when she can simply create and experiment. But mostly they are what she enjoys. So while repetition can mean different things for many people, Adrianna's unique relationship with it pushes her to create art that is both simple and complex, disciplined but free. Ultimately she has put together a series of pieces that beautifully represent her unique mind and tells an amazing story of struggle and triumph.