The acclaimed artist, concept designer and author of Tales from the Loop (2014) and Things from the Flood (2016) Simon Stålenhag (b. 1984) is best known for his highly imaginative images and stories portraying illusive sci-fi phenomena in mundane, hyper-realistic Scandinavian landscapes. Tales from the Loop was ranked by The Guardian as one of the ‘10 Best Dystopias’, in company with works such as Franz Kafka’s The Trial and Andrew Niccol’s Gattaca.
Not only have Stålenhag’s unique and cinematic images earned him a worldwide fan base, but have also made him a go-to storyteller, concept artist and illustrator for both the film and computer gaming industry. Simon Stålenhag’s work can be seen in films such as Searching for Sugarman (2012), directed by Malik Bendjeloull, and in games such as Ripple Dot Zero (2013).
Published books
The Labyrinth
2021
A stunning sci-fi apocalypse like you’ve never seen before.
An eight-wheeled vehicle trundles across a barren landscape of ash and ruined buildings toward a lone bunker deep in the wilderness. Inside the vehicle are three passengers: two scientists―who plan to use the outpost as a home base for the study of world-ending phenomena―and a boy named Charlie.
As the work unfolds, the isolation and claustrophobia of the compound threatens each member of the expedition with madness. Forced to confront their own dark history and the struggles of the haves and have-nots, the members of the expedition find themselves hurtling toward ruin.
The Electric State
2018
In late 1997, a runaway teenager and her yellow toy robot travel west through a strange USA, where 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.
Things from the Flood
2016
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.
Read more >>
Tales from the Loop
2014
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.
Read more >>