Existential Horror.
Existential horror is an attempt to create a new feeling utilizing photoshopped illustrations of more established artwork throughout history, invoking a feeling of dread and existentialism
The ‘EMOTION COLLAGE’ project
The Emotion Collage project was a graphic design 1 assignment to take imagery from more famous artwork and combine them into a single image to invoke a specific feeling. Because of the amount of creepy and/or black and white imagery I found for my many sources, I decided to go with the feeling of ‘existential horror’. I was also on a horror trend at that time, having also made a monster in my digital sculpture class that semester. I used my images to tell a story, of normalcy and reality, cracking away. I wanted to capture the feeling of death, anxiety, and dread in this image. Looking around online, the consensus seemed to be the usage of vibrant hues and colors to offset the mind and bring about an almost sickly feeling, psychologically. It needed to look unnatural. My main success was the addition of these colors, and the addition of all the eyes staring back at you creepily. Really what I was most excited for was just watching it all come together. Theres always been something so exciting to me about creating such creepy and exciting images like this!
You cannot escape what lays within the concept of Existential Horrors. The incredible MADNESS of it all! Eyes peer at you from beyond the fourth veil, watching. Judging. What will your fate be? No matter your response, the outcome is the same. You will endure the panic and violence within the void. Watch as everything you thought was real disintegrates into pure, uncut chaos!
Inspirational Mood Board
I needed to be in the right headspace, and so I took to Pintrest, gathering up disturbed and unique imagery that would help guide me along the path of horror and internal dread.
Photos Used
Existential Horror used a wide variety of professional art pieces, photoshopped into one illustrative layout
Early stages of development
An early version of Existential Horror saw far less color and more muted tones, giving off a feeling of decay rather than something more heart racing
The Story
I created Existential Horror in early 2023 over the course of two and a half weeks. The goal was to convey an emotion through nothing but photographs of classic artist works, found in the campus library, photoshopped into a single illustration.
From left to right, you notice some things are off. Why’s that statue staring at you? Are you seeing spots now? Why is everyone staring… The walls begin to break away. Nightmarish creatures roam the land as the earth begins to lose all form. The colors scream at you with intensity, the sun chants your name, and fur grows along every surface around you. As the final pieces of reality crumble to nothingness around you, you find the eyes of eternity, staring into your very soul. Judging you. Accusing you. Demanding you. This is the world in which you exist. This is your waking hell.
Note:
The entire right side of the page was was actually inspired by a nightmare I’d had while working on it.
