‘Cyberpunk’ cities are vast collages with strange and often shocking juxtapositions awaiting at every turn. The future folded into the past, and vice versa. Cities are like compost heaps with layers and layers of stuff. The vertigo of accelerating change, the dizzying spectacle of globalized media, the feeling of being drowned in consumer goods with barely a shelf life before obsolescence. Disjointed imagery always has the power because life is disjointed and we are. Cyberpunk transforms those jumble emotions into a place, where it’s no longer necessary to resist the splintering pressures of society because the fight is over and we lost. All that remains is to surrender to the carnival of sensations. There is a relief in that, even a feeling of oneness.

Think of the monologue Roy Batty delivers at the end of ‘Blade Runner’ (1982):

“𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯.”

While there is angst in this line of thinking, there is also a blissful feeling of surrender. Voyaging through this strange sea of thoughts; part of me is calmed by my insignificance, by the teardrop of my life being lost in the downpour of time.

About the artist:

Asad Hossen is an architect, urbanist and graphic designer, currently working as an urban designer in a Shenzhen-based firm in China. He passed his B.Arch from BRAC University, Bangladesh, and completed his masters in Urban Design from the University of Hong Kong. From the beginning of his study in architecture, he has always been fascinated by architectural drawings and illustrations; constantly looking for inspiration from other artists. He tries to communicate as much as possible with his drawings. Drawings and illustrations are always therapeutic to him.

Follow Asad on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ide.o.gram/