Apocalyptic Room. The first diorama I created around late 2018, during my second year of University, I created a single room with a large bay window and an old, tatted sofa made completely out of clay. I used an old, vintage style wall paper to cover the walls and painted around the bottom to make it look old, dirty, and abandoned.
The model was inspired by Naughty Dog's game, The Last of Us, I loved exploring a reality that could never happen. The way the buildings were empty and the streets were quiet was almost tranquil, but there was always a sense of danger, the unknown of what's hiding around each corner.
Concept art by John Sweeny.
Concept art by Maceij Kuiara.
It was a world with no rules, no consequences, no leadership. Is it a Utopian world? Being able to do as you please. Or is it a dystopian world? You're never safe and each day is difficult to get through. Cults and gangs can be formed and territories become heavily guarded.
I decided to create a model of what was a family house, I built a living room area, but the windows are boarded up, impenetrable, but blocks out the light. The sofa that was once used, was now broken. And the wallpaper became dirty and started to peel, indicating the house had been left for quite some time.
I used two small 36 LED light with orange filters to illuminate the interior and bring out the yellows of the sofa and the wallpaper. The light also draws your eyes to the sofa instantly as the yellow is one of the the first things that pops out.
