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Artist imagines a desolate future by painting a world covered in dense graffiti

While graffiti usually decorates urban landscapes Portland-based artist Josh Keyes has chosen to splash tags over the natural world, and even on satellites in space.

His goal is to imagine a future where humanity’s mark has been left absolutely everywhere. If graffiti spreads beyond our cities and even our planet, what exactly will that look like?

I’ll Melt With You, 2016, acrylic on panel, 12″x18″
I’ll Melt With You, 2016, acrylic on panel, 12″x18″

How will our world look when we leave it? Josh Keyes imagines a graffiti-clad wasteland where the ugly signatures of humanity will forever linger.

Recently speaking to Colossal, Keyes had the following to say about his series:

“Are there things and places that graffiti should not be? Who is to say what surface is to be kept graffiti clean? My personal concern is that this will be a reality some day and speaks to a larger issue of our relationship with the natural world. The satellite and space graffiti hints that even if we colonise other worlds, what mark will we leave? No matter where we go there is evidence of our presence.”

With graffiti, damage and detritus already making it’s mark on our world, Keyes’ vision is a chilling forethought to a potential future we’d do well to avoid.

See more of his work below:

Josh_Keyes_01
Descent, 2016, acrylic on panel, 8″x10″
Graffiti john keyes
Tin Can, 2016, acrylic on panel, 24″x48″
Josh_Keyes_03
Frontier 2, 2016, acrylic on panel, 12″x16”
Josh_Keyes_02
Frontier, 2016, acrylic on panel, 12″x16”

Via Colossal.