Otherworlding - Otherworlds

Concept art for WALLACE AND GROMIT by Nick Park.

Vintage publicity images for TWIN PEAKS.

Three things define the early 90s for me: The Simpsons, grunge music, and Twin Peaks.

I was 13: not a kid anymore, not really a teen yet; I mean not the kind of teen you are when you’re 16. I used to ride to school on my bike thinking about Twin Peaks: the music, characters, scenes, the warm visuals, the whispering trees, just the strange, otherworldly sense around it. The suspense was murder. Everything seemed charged with mystery, even traffic lights and ceiling fans. Twin Peaks is the shadow version of America’s can-do optimism.

That’s where my head was for about a year, I was constantly thinking about Twin Peaks. None of the other kids in my class watched the show, so it felt like my own dream world. Nobody knew but me. But then it has been like that for most of my life.

The Starchild from 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968), a page from Jack Kirby’s 1977 adaptation, and the original prop on display.

British children’s TV 1970s-1980s.

Henry’s Cat, Chorlton and the Wheelies, Roland Rat, Button Moon, Postman Pat, The Flumps, Rentaghost, The Wombles, Fingermouse, Bagpuss.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND by sci-fi and fantasy illustrator, Rodney Matthews.

Illustrations by Chica for a 1976 French edition of THE HOBBIT. Love that Gollum.

I’ve featured several foreign editions of the book (and LOTR in general) now. It’s interesting to compare the different versions and styles, the literal and the faithful, and the wild and the weird. Illustrations that differ too much from the descriptions in the book can be jarring, whereas illustrations that too literally depict what’s already vividly described in prose can make you wonder, Why even bother with illustrations?

Concept paintings for 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968). ‬

RESTRICTED AREAS. Abandoned Soviet structures, photographed by Danila Tkachenko.

The world of BLADE RUNNER (1982).

Hm, suddenly I feel like drinking Coca-Cola. Strange.

Nightlife in Hong Kong in the 1970s. Photos by Greg Girard.