It was one of those moments when I stepped out of my comfort zone — and it changed the way I see my art. I realized how much I love weaving together complex visuals and deeper metaphors.
I took part in the Red Bull Doodle Art Competition back in 2014. Participants had to create a doodle on any theme they wanted. Lot's of countries participated in this. I participated in Tajikistan.
Yep, that’s me in the fancy suit. I’d just come from university, where wearing a suit and tie was mandatory. I wasn’t even planning to go to the event — until Red Bull called to say my work made the shortlist. The ceremony was in an hour, so I had no time to change. I showed up exactly as I was.
At first, I wasn’t too excited about participating — but thankfully, my friends convinced me. So I started doodling. It was something completely new for me, and I think my approach turned out a bit different from what doodles usually look like — at least visually.
I began searching for a theme that truly fascinated me and ended up exploring Mother Nature, Humanity, Life & Death, and Modernity. So I grabbed my pen and paper and finished it on the very last day before the deadline — classic procrastination at its finest.
Here’s the final result. For the first time, I felt like I’d managed to translate my thoughts exactly as they appeared in my mind. My ideas are often like Frankenstein’s monster — a patchwork of images and meanings stitched into one body.
The fetus was one of the first images that came to my mind, and I built everything else around it, improvising from that starting point. It symbolized the beginning of life — where the umbilical cord transforms into flowers and leaves. The child rests safely, protected under a wing. Nature itself will do anything to ensure this life is born and continues to grow.
Soon, the child will face many challenges, but for now, he sleeps peacefully, untouched by the world.
This scene represents the opposite — death. The figure lies beneath the world itself, becoming its foundation. The gears symbolize time’s machinery, quietly reminding us that every clock, sooner or later, winds down.
This part symbolizes modernity — a landscape of buildings and smoke. The wing protects the unborn child from the harshness of this world, sheltering it from modern influence, if only for a little while.
From the bodies of the dead, a tree grows — becoming one with the roots that support the world. It speaks of how the past shapes the future, and how one day, we too will return to the soil. Until then, we have the chance to make this world a little better than we found it.
This being stands as the protector of life — the conscience that binds the world into one. It creates, it guards, it sustains.
There are many details in this illustration that even I can’t fully explain. Much of it came from pure improvisation — a conversation between my hands and my subconscious.
The competition was held all over the world. Each participating country had to choose its own winners, who would then go on to the final stage in Cape Town, South Africa.
For Tajikistan, the final event took place in Dushanbe, the capital. It was a fun and exciting day — the judges had to pick one winner to represent the country in Cape Town. My fingers were definitely crossed that day.
Somehow, I actually won. Totally unexpected — the other artists’ work was incredible. I was genuinely shocked.
Unfortunately, the organizers didn’t send me to Cape Town — for reasons still unknown to me. So, my artwork went there without me. There was a huge exhibition, and from what I saw on their website, the whole event looked like a lot of fun.
In the end, Santanu Hazarika from India won the global title — and honestly, it was totally deserved.
From this contest, I discovered something new about myself — things I didn’t know I was capable of.
