Dystopia’s through art
An interesting way to portray dystopias is through art. Dystopian stories make us think, much like art does, so it is a perfect way to explore this theme. Some art is more literal, whereas others leave more the imagination. It plays in your feelings, your thoughts, your morals, and values. Some art is also more political, and requires us to confront ourselves and how we are living life. Overall, art is a great way to start these conversations!
Below you’ll see some paintings, some of which created during Covid-19. Others are paintings from other artists that display dystopian landscapes. What do these paintings make you feel and think? Leave a comment down below!
This painting, Melbourne Dystopia (2020), showcases the pandemic in Melbourne. The yellow hazmat suits, even for the dog, give off a dystopian feeling. You see that every person is dressed in a suit, which could mean that it is not safe to be outside without one. This reminds me of the TV Series The 100. In the show the earth was uninhabitable, so they lived in space. A certain group lived their whole lives in a bunker because they were too afraid to go outside due to radiation.
Zdzisław Beksinski is a Polish artist who creates dystopian surrealist paintings. Many display gory and gruesome landscapes. Most of his works are untitled and have no specific meaning, as he wants the viewer to interpret it in their own way. A lot of his works have simple backgrounds, making you focus on the main object. Some depict humans in different stages. You can see skeletons holding onto each other, and a skeleton on a bike reading something like a newspaper. To me, one of the images looks like the Notre Dame in Paris covered in a web of bones, all connected. This could represent all the people that came together overnight to raise millions, while other countries had/have severe struggles happening at the same time where there wasn’t so much media coverage and money raised.
His work displays the final stage of capitalism as the end of the world. It shows dystopian landscapes as a consequence of our own consumerist actions. A lot of his works have the word “more” in there a lot, as you see in the painting below. This can be perceived as the notion that it’s “never enough”, and people always want more. It plays into our greed, over-consumerism, and never been satisfied.
“I am intrigued by what motivates our collective pursuits, and how our actions may affect our future viability.”
Michael Kerbow