About me

I am Pavel Liška. Artistically Lishown. Otherwise, Fox.

What can you expect from me?

I design ...

settings, stage designs, art and interactive objects. Either for the real or virtual world. prostředí, stage designy. Ať už je to pro reálný i virtuální svět.

I create ...

I put designs and designs into tangible form. Under my hands, the "what ifs" become "here it is".

I construct ...

I cut, drill, grind, laser, calculate, draft. I can handle all your requirements.

Lone wolf or team player

I work alone and in a team. I will become part of your team or build a team of my own according to your project needs.

I know what I am doing

I have 10 years of experience in the cultural, artistic and commercial fields. I have worked for private companies and public administration. I handle projects artistically and creatively as well as from a technical and production point of view.

Who am I

When I look back on my childhood and teenage years, everything is somehow reflected in my work. Shocking, isn't it? I was very sick as a child, so I ran off to fantasyland, creating characters, games, drawing, cutting, coloring and gluing. And this relationship with analog has stayed with me. The world of computers came after the Velvet revolution, and as a true outsider, I was the last one in my class to get one. I vowed to not only catch up with my classmates in all games and computer knowledge, but to work hard to be better and more innovative. And that remained embedded in my blood as strongly as my love of the analog. 

Along the Academic Trail

The path of my creative self was unfortunately undermined by family pressure to do something for a living. So I hung up my career from the Art School and went to Electrical Engineering High School. After graduation, I didn't have to fight too hard for a position as an electrical engineer in the factory of my choice. And so for a few years I joined a manufacturing carousel full of stereotypes and boredom. But my inner creator wouldn't let me rest. I was gradually becoming the good old outsider in the middle of a normal manufacturing company. When I finally woke up from that Blue Hell (I drew a comic about it, if anyone ever wants to read it, drop me a line, there are only a few copies), I went back to art school as an overgrown student. After two years of practicing painting techniques and building a portfolio, I successfully came under the wing of my alma mater, the Faculty of Design and Art in Pilsen, known as "Sutnarka". I was interested in drawing characters and caricatures, so I naturally went into Comics and Illustration for Children, which, unlike painting, also includes a story. While studying my bachelor's degree program, I worked as an assistant to the head of the atelier, prof. Barbara Salamounova. As I developed artistically, creating not only comics but also interactive pop-up illustrations, I began to miss the spatial matter in the field. I switched to the Animation and Interactive Design studio for my master's degree. Unlike most of my classmates and professors, I was drawn to the interactivity rather than traditional animation techniques. I started spending a lot of time with people in multimedia and helping friends from Film and TV School of Academy of Performing Arts in Prague with the set designs of their student films. I finished off my studies with a large-scale thesis that maps out all the techniques I learned, while touching on the tough subject of war conflicts and that life just isn't fair and doesn't follow the rules. People pick up on these themes all the time, although they rarely learn from them. I received my second red diploma, said a few funny words in my graduation speech, and threw myself fully into my professional life outside of academia. 

Studies and work combined

Since joining Sutnarka, I've been active around creative projects. As assistant studio manager I experienced working as a curator in Brussels for a comics expo, for which I won the Mayor of Pilsen award. In 2015, I was in charge of the production and art of the opening night of Pilsen 2015, the European Capital of Culture at Sutnarka. I worked on student projects of my classmates, professors such as Sutnar's Bedekr. During my Master's studies I also taught a course on graphic editing at Sutnarka. I also accomplished one of my childhood dreams and founded the first Pilsen comic-con under the name CO.CON. A very rich thematic event that connects local creators and is not afraid to go more into art compared to traditional cons.

Outside academia, I have worked on commercial contracts for the private sector and public administration. I worked on exhibitions for the National Technical Museum in Plasy. I designed an interactive educational program for pilots for the company Wheel Tug. Together with friends, we created two successful Chernobyl-themed escape games in Pilsen, which unfortunately were not reopened after the pandemic.

Life as a freelancer

After graduation in 2019, I was looking forward to having the capacities freed up for other projects. Lo and behold, the pandemic was about to arrive. But thanks to my broad scope, I kept busy, and after a three-week isolation at the cottage, I returned to a desk full of new projects. I've basically been going non-stop ever since. I created the outdoor game Industrial Trail at DEPO2015, which you can still visit today, I produced several sets for streaming studios ranging from cultural events to fashion shows to internal company presentations, I continued my collaboration with the National Technical Museum in Plasy, I produced a set for the Pilsen musical by the Kajetan Tyl Theatre, and I helped the DEPO2015 exhibition team to smooth out, complete and finally produce two interactive exhibitions. And another one is in the works at the moment.

In the past two years, I've immersed myself in the world of lights and projections. I executed the light and stage design for the launch of a debut album of the Czech singer Mirka Novak in 2022, where I did live-mixed projections and interacted with the music. I contributed to the artistic performance Illusion Baroque in Manětín, combining music, dance, painting, and projections. I take pride in my collaboration on light festivals, whether it's with BLIK BLIK in Plzeň or Vary Září in Karlovy Vary. In 2023, for BLIK BLIK, I created a site-specific light installation named Cerebri Tree, a tree covered with 14.000 mirrors. No tree was harm.

 And the journey continues.

What's next? Let's be surprised, everyone. Stay tuned!