In this talk, I’ll share a personal reflection on getting creatively stuck, and how easy it is to lose touch with the reasons we create in the first place. I’ll explore the slow, subtle ways external pressure - from social media, financial needs, or the desire to be recognised - can turn creativity into self-replication, boxing us into an image we feel we must keep producing. I’ll talk about how, over time, I drifted away from the joyful sincere yearning that made me start illustrating at all, and how that disconnection led to a deep creative shutdown. 

Finding my way back wasn’t about pushing harder, but about unlearning, experimenting, and letting go of the idea that growth must always be linear. It’s a constant, messy balancing act between wanting to be seen and wanting to stay free, between honoring our craft and surviving in a system that demands constant output. This talk is for anyone who’s felt stuck, tired, or quietly disconnected from their own work - an invitation to make mistakes, to start over, and to trust the deeper ebbs and flows of creative life.

I’m Kot Bonkers, a self-taught illustrator working primarily with ink, pencil, and paper, and recently expanding into ceramics and clay work. My visual language is often childlike and raw — I try not to overthink it, finding ways to play around my lack of technical knowledge through more minimal and direct forms of self-expression. I enjoy capturing the imperfect, messy beauty of human experience and treat illustration as a form of visual diary — a way to process internal landscapes and build bridges to the outside world. 

My work explores themes of transparency, human rights, self-discovery, humour, and resilience. Lately, I’ve been especially focused on collaborative projects, becoming more curious about how self-expression can expand and transform through shared ideas. Through my work, I aim to foster community, invite dialogue, create spaces for shared reflection, and offer myself an outlet to process sadness, joy, and whatever else life brings.