Dystopia: A Visible Trajectory in America's Anxieties
Each of these illustrations condenses a dystopian trope by using architectural and botanical metaphors. By studying the genre, I plugged in my understandings of dystopian themes and language into my own imagined space.
In representing a distinct dystopian trope or subgenre with each piece, I chose botanical elements that either in their traits or form, best fit these the conceptual nature of given dystopian subgenre. The vocabulary and concepts that I use in this series cherry-picks from a long history of dystopian media.
In addition to looking at the imagery used by various popular dystopian artists, I also examined what anxieties caused them to create their work. There is precision to the timing for when a dystopian work is released. The themes in any given work are not only relevant to their time, but also crucial in creating a dialogue with a larger audience.
As we continue on through the garden, we come to the terrarium observatory.
This illustration depicts the botanical gardens version of a surveillance state. It is in this area that plants are housed in confinement. Inside of these clear, rectangular pri
As we move on with our next segment of the tour we encounter a monument that truly marks the brink of the gardens depths. Here we see two conical spires that the pathway leads between. Atop these spires are extravagant fountains producing luminous lemon-c
As we first enter the gates of the botanical garden we encounter an outlying industrial district. This first painting arguably has one of the most recognizable sci-fi symbols, the glass dome. In the construction of fictional worlds, Spatial relationships
The next painting represents the climax of the series, a glimpse behind the pleasantries of the garden and into its visceral nature. Underground, housed in shoddily arranged glass terrariums, a horde of meager grasses are crowded together, their only ligh
The final painting telescopes outwards, to what lies beyond the walls of the Dystopian Botanical Garden. It is not a flourishing paradise being kept hidden, instead it is a dystopia of another type, one without order. Without clear cut, hierarchies and sy
As we continue on to the entertainment sector we come across the spectacular event arena. In this scene spectators enjoy a parasitic vine pitted against a hazardous sandbox tree. Here the reoccurring fountain antagonist watches over the event. The glow fr
The garden takes a sudden plunge and transports us to the hypnotic underground waters of the Drug Dystopia.
Diverging from the series’ main color palate I intended to illustrate an altered and dreamlike space. In this luxurious underground getaway, the
