HYPERDYSTOPIA is a series of psychedelic and ghostly textile sculptures inspired by the shifting formations of clouds observed from an airplane. Clouds, soft and protective, ultimately offer no security; in the event of engine failure, they provide no salvation from a fall. This visual and conceptual tension between appearance and reality mirrors my experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. The clouds’ deceptive softness evokes a parallel to my fluctuating emotional state during the outbreak—at once a fear of isolation and death, and simultaneously, the profound comfort found in the safety of home, the practice of art, and the accomplishment of tasks that were difficult to achieve in pre-pandemic times. It was, in essence, an exhilarating experience of terror.

The series of photographs included in HYPERDYSTOPIA were taken on the Thames Path, near my residence, during one of my extended walks during lockdown. On this particular day, the oppressive weather—bleak and depressing—intensified the sense of experiencing an apocalyptic moment. The landscape, nearly devoid of human presence, was a fitting backdrop for the textile sculptures.

In these images, the sculptures set in the desolate background: threatening lights radiate from the grey clouds, a strange vessel hovers ominously above the sewage works, and a grotesque figure spews near an abandoned, decaying shopping trolley. Other surreal elements—such as “abandoned ovules” strewn along the riverbank and a three-legged monster struggling against the control of its extra limb—imbue the scene with a dystopian sense of decay and alienation.

Creating HYPERDYSTOPIA, I engaged with the looming threats of the period, anthropomorphizing them into soft, absurd shapes. These cuddly, strokeable forms embody a fusion of fear and humor, allowing the artist to transform feelings of anxiety and dread into something more playful. The creatures, with their pliable, comforting bodies, are cast in dark, science fiction narratives, where their presence in these surreal scenes suggests a reconciliation with the darker aspects of existence.

Ultimately, HYPERDYSTOPIA functions as a meditation on the complexity of emotions experienced during the pandemic: fear and security, isolation and creativity, danger and absurdity. Through this work, I explores the capacity for art to embody and make tangible the psychological landscapes shaped by crisis, inviting viewers to confront the absurdity and fragility of life. The tension between the grotesque and the playful, the soft and the threatening, encapsulates a process of aknowledgenment, where even the most terrifying elements are rendered manageable through my practice.

Last Egg On Earth, digital image.

Food Chain, digital image.

F*** Boy, digital image.