Sammy Slabbinck and other digital artists use intense colour to make the most ordinary domestic scenes feel completely unfamiliar. In the digital collage Seafood, a family sits around a dinner table in a scene that would look like a normal mid-century meal if not for the bright blue liquid in their bowls. The man, woman, and boy are all captured in the middle of eating, holding spoons to their mouths while surrounded by ordinary glasses and bread. I think the choice of such an unnatural colour for the food makes the entire happy family event feel slightly surreal and strange. It turns a quiet moment at home into something that feels like it belongs in a different world.
Lerson also uses a magenta palette to create a sense of fantasy within a landscape that features a brown and white dog. The dog stands on a reflective surface by the water, but it has a red rose and a yellow rose growing directly from its head. Above the animal, a single eye sends out yellow beams of light between two vertical rainbows. These rainbows lead into a tear in the image that reveals a black space filled with stars and celestial bodies. The use of such bright, saturated tones makes the dog look like a fawn or a mythical creature rather than a household pet.
taudalpoi creates a similar feeling of mystery by placing a woman against a dark background filled with white and blue dots. In Under A Starry Night, the woman has dark hair and makeup and lies back while holding a single red flower. Her body is partially covered by a textured material that mimics the patterns of the stars in the background. This use of fashion design and formal wear in a space-like setting makes the figure feel like she is part of the cosmos. The deep blacks and bright dots create a mood that is both fun and slightly otherworldly, moving away from a standard portrait into something more decorative.
Tokyo Dream features a central pink figure lying down with their hands over their face in a way that feels very personal. This illustration is crowded with Japanese pop culture characters, including a green dinosaur-like creature and a silver-headed figure eating noodles. While the foreground is full of everyday items like packaged snacks, drinks, and a magazine, the background is made of orange clouds and yellow light rays. The superhero and comic book elements mixed with ordinary snacks create a scene that feels like a vivid dream. By using such a wide range of bright colours, the artist makes a bedroom floor feel like a stage for a grand adventure.
