Mould Map 6 – Terraformers

In a time when superhero, sci-fi and fantasy films are breaking records at the box office and cosplayers are social media celebrities, it seems that the world is more than ready to embrace a side of art that explores comic books  and graphic novels. This not to say that ‘geek culture’ is a new phenomenon; we are all aware of the stereotype that portrays lovers of comic books as socially inept people (see the Big Bang Theory as a perhaps outdated model of the geek). Nowadays, however, people are more than happy to share their love of Harley Quinn or the latest issue that Marvel has to offer.

The Mould Map 6-Terraformers exhibition subsequently swerves away from the mainstream in order to showcase talents from all over the world which specialise in video-games, graphic novels, painting, voodoo candles, 3D printed sculptures, printed fabrics and similar aesthetics. “We’re interested in the ways art and design can convey possible futures, both utopian and dystopian and how these visions might enable people to move towards a version of the world they want to live in” says co-creator Hugh Frost, a lecturer in graphic design at Nottingham Trent University’s School of Art & Design. 

Fellow co-creator Leon Sadler, a professional artist with a background in comic book illustration, said: “Comic book illustration is one of the most imaginative forms of art I have known. It enables both the artist and the viewer to lose themselves in an alternative world, offering a counterpoint to the conditions of everyday existence. What we’re creating with Mould Map 6 – Terraformers is a unique experience to which will bring 60 different worlds alive. It’s a chance to delve into the minds of these artists and explore their individual visions of science fiction futures and how they overlap with the challenges we face collectively in the 21st century.”