Escapism and the need to create new worlds

I’ve been planning a new t-shirt for a while now, working through a lot of ideas before the right one came along.

ORDER HERE

It all started when I noticed the fire exit sign outside my studio. You know that little green figure running through a door? It’s a universal symbol for escaping a dangerous situation. I distorted the image and cut away the background. Inside the door I needed something that felt like another world entirely, so I scanned a handful of mealworms. They go through a complete metamorphosis during their lifetime, transforming from larvae into a beetle. I liked the idea of that transformation being hidden inside the design. In Photoshop I turned them into a psychedelic pattern of colour that bears almost no resemblance to their original state.

The type underneath was written out with a pen and a plastic stencil that I picked up a few weeks back (anytime I see a stencil out in the wild, I always buy it and add it to my ever-growing collection). The italic all caps had a nostalgia to it that seemed to fit really well with the image above it.

I called the shirt EXIT REALITY. We’re living through such stressful times right now and we’ve never been bombarded with more information on a daily basis. It’s been on my mind a lot while I’ve been working and I guess this is a result of that longing for escapism and the need to create new worlds.

Matisse once said “I would like people who are weary, stressed and broken to find peace and tranquility as they look at my pictures” I wouldn’t go that far myself… but I made you a cool shirt.

I’ve also been rewatching The X-Files in the evenings, and it really holds up. The aesthetic of the show and its moody atmosphere have a special place in my heart. That persistent feeling that something strange exists just beyond the surface of ordinary life is more Twin Peaks than I remembered. Be sure to check it out if you’re into that kind of thing.

Mulder’s “I Want to Believe” poster is an iconic landmark of design too.

The t-shirt is available now here.

Cheers,

Joe