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Retro-inspired digital collages by Joe Simpson that imagine a more cheerful future

When many artists or writers imagine what life will be like decades from now, it's often a gloomy outlook. Full of dystopian themes, end-of-the-world drama and everyone fighting to survive, it's not an optimistic view of how things will turn out. Artist Joe Simpson wants to offer an antidote to the dark predictions with his latest digital collage series.

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Black and white photograph of a woman in vintage clothing sitting on a spacecraft, gazing at a large moon surrounded by colourful planets and stars against a cosmic background

Some of These Days features artworks made up of found images from the past and paint a happier future – one perhaps imagined from the past. "So much of today's fiction about the future is a pessimistic dystopian vision, it's post-apocalyptic, zombie-ridden, natural disaster or a pandemic," says Joe of his work. "I wanted to create images that were an antidote to this gloomy perspective. An idea of the future, from a nostalgic perspective of the past, where it looked exotic and exciting – full of possibilities, where people looked happy."

Joe created these collages inspired by pulp science fiction and romanticism. He's also referenced Hopperesque iconography that permeates much of his work - with hotels, drive-in theatres, ticket booths and diners. "Despite my best efforts, I think there's still some sinister undertones in the series, in the form of giant monsters, a reoccurring motif of jellyfish and emotionless dead-eyed robots – but hopefully the project still feels hopeful," he adds.

A figurative painter currently living and working in London, Joe Simpson's artworks have been shown both nationally and internationally, including at prestigious venues such as the National Portrait Gallery, Royal Albert Hall, Manchester City Art Gallery and the House of Commons. He works primarily in oil paint to create realistic images that "utilise the conventions of cinematography to present 'staged', fictitious scenes where time has been stopped and extended," as he puts it.

Find out more about his work at www.joe-simpson.co.uk.

Woman in polka dot swimwear on a lunar landscape with a robot and colourful bubbles floating above
An astronaut in a spacesuit sits on a giant butterfly with red and orange patterned wings against a purple starry sky scattered with coloured circles
Two figures gaze upwards at a purple galaxy visible through a large window, whilst colourful circles float nearby and silhouetted crowds gather below
An astronaut in a vintage spacesuit stands in a desert landscape beside a retro hotel, with coloured circles floating above and mountains in the background
Three figures float through a starry cosmos alongside coloured spheres, combining retro imagery with a dreamy, optimistic vision of the future
Three astronauts floating playfully in a starry sky surrounded by colourful planets and nebulae, from Joe Simpson's Some of These Days series
Woman holding an umbrella stands beside a retro robot in a stylised sci-fi interior with colourful circles floating overhead
Collaged figure wearing a space helmet stands before a retro diner on an alien landscape with colourful planets and a starry sky backdrop
Three vintage-styled women ride a rocket ship through a starry sky dotted with colourful planets, with a forest silhouette and rainbow exhaust below
Woman in space helmet holding hands with a robot on a pink alien landscape beneath a starry sky with floating coloured spheres
Retro-futuristic collage showing a woman in vintage swimwear by a pool with palm trees, a surfer, colourful floating spheres and a woman's portrait in a spacecraft against a starry sky
Black and white figure holding retro televisions connected to colourful fish and floating circles against a starry background, in a collage style artwork
A black and white figure with an astronaut helmet sits at a telescope pointing towards a nebula filled with colourful planets and stars in a retro-futuristic collage.
Two figures peer out through a spacecraft window surrounded by colourful planets and a starry nebula-filled sky with a snowy landscape below
Black and white figure punching in a retro interior with galaxy wallpaper, vintage television, typewriter and colourful hanging planets
Retro-futuristic collage showing a white flying saucer with passengers inside, hovering above an alien landscape with a giant purple octopus and colourful geometric shapes against a blue starry sky
Man in suit and hat standing beside robot with cameras for a head in turquoise field beneath starry pink sky with coloured planets
Retro collage of a couple in spacesuits dancing among planets and a rocket, set against a nebula backdrop
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