Simon Stålenhag

In 1997, a runaway teenager and her yellow toy robot travel west through a strange USA. The ruins of gigantic battle drones litter the countryside, heaped together with the discarded trash of a high tech consumerist society in decline. As their car approaches the edge of the continent, the world outside the window seems to be unraveling ever faster—as if somewhere beyond the horizon, the hollow core of civilization has finally caved in. Simon Stålenhag is the internationally acclaimed author, concept designer, and artist behind Tales from the Loop and Things from the Flood. His highly imaginative images and stories depicting illusive sci-fi phenomena in mundane, hyper-realistic Scandinavian landscapes have made Stålenhag one of the most sought-after visual storytellers in the world. In The Electric State, Stålenhag turns his unique vision to America.

In 1954, the Swedish government ordered the construction of the world’s largest particle accelerator. The facility was complete in 1969, located deep below the pastoral countryside of Mälaröarna. The local population called this marvel of technology The Loop. These are its strange tales. Simon Stålenhag’s paintings of Swedish 1980s suburbia, populated by fantastic machines and strange beasts, have spread like wildfire on the Internet. The 2015 Kickstarter for the English version of the book raised over $320,000. Stålenhag’s portrayal of a childhood against a backdrop of old Volvo cars and coveralls, combined with strange and mystical machines, creates a unique atmosphere that is both instantly recognizable and utterly alien. In this top-quality artbook, Simon Stålenhag’s first set of paintings are collected in book form—together with texts that tell the stories of the youth who lived in the shadows of the machines. In addition, three separate prints (format 260×230 mm) as well as a full-color map (format 520x340mm) of the land of The Loop are included in the book.

The Loop is closed. Life is returning to normal when the pastoral countryside is suddenly flooded by dark water from the huge abandoned underground facility. Rumors spread in classrooms and schoolyards, stories about the flood and how it has brought something with it. One thing is clear: the past is not ready to be forgotten. Simon Stålenhag is back. In his new artbook Things From The Flood, Stålenhag continues the stories of Tales From The Loop, memories of a Nordic childhood infused with strange machines and weird creatures from other dimensions. In Things From The Flood, Stålenhag moves his focus from the 80s to the 90s, the decade of great change when the outside world truly came to Scandinavia. These are tales of the trials of youth, of schoolyard hazings, of first kisses, of finding yourself - and robots. In addition, this edition includes includes three separate prints (format 260×230 mm) as well as a full-color map (format 520x340mm).

Hipnotyzująca wizja postapokaliptycznego świata, powstała z połączenia niepokojącej fabuły z wizualnym bogactwem niezwykłych ilustracji. Jest rok 1997. Nastolatka Michelle przemierza zrujnowane po wojnie Stany Zjednoczone w towarzystwie małego żółtego robota. Podąża ku mitycznemu wybrzeżu Pacyfiku, gdzie być może znajdzie nadzieję dla ginącego świata. Przy autostradach wznoszą się resztki ogromnych machin wojennych i sterty śmieci po upadłym stechnicyzowanym społeczeństwie konsumpcyjnym. Ocalałe resztki ludzkości pogrążają się w marazmie i otępieniu, uciekając w świat wirtualnej rzeczywistości. Kraj przemierzają uzbrojone bandy szabrowników i złomiarzy. W miarę jak bohaterowie zbliżają się do wybrzeża, świat ulega coraz szybszemu rozkładowi, jakby wydrążony rdzeń cywilizacji ostatecznie zniknął za horyzontem…