My husband Eldar turns 79 today, and it feels like the perfect day to launch his life-affirming project, GaffGaff Galleri.
With his lifelong experience and unwaveringly positive attitude, he is an adventurer in his own right. I would describe him as a combination of kindness, curiosity, inventiveness, and a refusal to give up, no matter how hopeless a situation may seem. This spirit is also visible in the images he creates today, works he first found inspiration for during six months of cancer treatment.
His images are often small stories in themselves, filled with emotions we easily recognize in our own lives. His work feels personal and often dreamlike. Of course, I will let you interpret it however you wish, but I can promise you are in for a remarkable journey.
The subjects are often animals: winged horses, colorful horses, and donkeys. And if you look closely, they are not there merely for decoration or as random representations. They carry meaning. I see the winged horses as symbols of freedom, flight, and transcendence, while the donkeys bring a sense of humor, warmth, and humanity.
What I enjoy most is the scenery built around these animals: a calm red horse lying in bed beneath a world map, the curtain on fire, used to illustrate our lack of action, even as we can clearly see the world burning.
Here, one of his most important concerns as a writer becomes visible: the question of why humanity never seems to learn from its mistakes, but instead repeats them almost automatically, generation after generation.
Yet as a visual artist, he is often more focused on universal human experiences, presented on colorful canvases where horses and donkeys frequently take center stage.
The leap from underlying humor to strict classical compositions is surprisingly short. His Pegasus series reveals his fascination with myths and fairy tales.
These images speak to me in a deeply familiar way. Since childhood, we have always had pictures of horses on our walls because, to us, horses symbolize luck. In other words, they are familiar subjects, not something you have to decode when viewing art, yet they still carry your imagination to unexpected places.
There is something inspiring about them, and I believe Eldar wants his art to linger in your mind afterward, as a reminder to always seek paths toward a freer, better life.
To sum it up, his work feels recognizable, relatable, and calm like a friend gently encouraging you out of your comfort zone through imaginative storytelling. But even in the more serious pieces, you can still sense traces of a deeply lived life and a profound reverence for it. The works feel alive and approachable.
I also cannot ignore the use of light in many of his works, especially in his exclusive pieces and limited editions. There are moons, silence, and landscapes carrying quiet suggestions of memory and longing.
Experiencing the collection becomes an emotional journey in itself. You look at one piece and feel wonder, then turn your head and suddenly a solitary image reveals itself. Some works are playful and uplifting, while others are quiet and reflective.
Eldar has a term for his artistic approach: Digitalpoetism — written as one word. He uses digital tools to create something poetic and emotional rather than merely technical. Technology is part of the process, but creativity remains at the center, shaped by more than sixty years of visual storytelling experience. His works are built through experimentation, intuition, and narrative instinct.
And today, together, we are launching GaffGaff Galleri. It is a space where I can showcase his works, because many of these pieces deserve to be seen by the world. It also provides a proper home for his growing collection of prints.
Think of it more as a visual gateway than a traditional online store. I encourage you to browse slowly, notice the recurring symbols and themes, and spend time with the images that speak to you. And if we are lucky, perhaps you will even invite one of his works into your own world.
You can click this link if you are curious: Visit the Gallery – GaffGaff Galleri
And honestly, the combination of Eldar’s age, productivity, inventiveness, and distinctive visual expression makes this project far more compelling than many generic AI-based art projects. There is an actual lived life behind these images. You can feel it.
I hope his images offer a moment to pause, reflect, and wonder, or perhaps bring a smile to a world very much in need of one.
