The Brazilian-Italian graphic designer Pedro Stolf is worried about the current state of science fiction – a genre that he says used to be “a deeply queer and progressive genre” seems to be represented nowadays on the more dystopian side, rather than utopian. “Today, we tend to associate sci-fi (and technology itself) with narcissistic billionaires dreaming of colonising Mars, generative AI trained on stolen data or the machinery of hyper-surveillance rather than the genre’s revolutionary, self-expanding potential,” says Pedro. “My goal with my work is to make sci-fi queer, exciting and human-oriented again.”
Massaranduba, the small agricultural town in the south of Brazil that Pedro grew up in is far from sci-fi,…
The Brazilian-Italian graphic designer Pedro Stolf is worried about the current state of science fiction – a genre that he says used to be “a deeply queer and progressive genre” seems to be represented nowadays on the more dystopian side, rather than utopian. “Today, we tend to associate sci-fi (and technology itself) with narcissistic billionaires dreaming of colonising Mars, generative AI trained on stolen data or the machinery of hyper-surveillance rather than the genre’s revolutionary, self-expanding potential,” says Pedro. “My goal with my work is to make sci-fi queer, exciting and human-oriented again.”
Massaranduba, the small agricultural town in the south of Brazil that Pedro grew up in is far from sci-fi, but this graphic designer’s imagination takes him some place else. From posters, illustration, magazine layouts and typefaces (such as pieces that focus on sci-fi author Ursula K. Le Guin’s fictional Kesh alphabet), Pedro works digitally with a focus on textures and grit, using dithers and fractals to build upon visual world’s textures. His projects are “mood-centred”, which begin by assembling references from all over to refine feelings that are conjured up by consuming films, fashion, music and other visual forms.
“Since I was seven, I’ve been obsessed with space and physics. That curiosity turned me into an avid sci-fi reader very early on and as I grew up and began to understand my queerness, these interests started to merge and shape my worldview and later, my approach to design,” says Pedro. “I love imagining new forms of technology that could expand our understanding of ourselves. ”
In his goal to make “sci-fi with more humanity”, Pedro draws from conceptual language from the 90s and early noughties – Y2K futurism and punk pop culture, which breathes influences from Gregg Araki, Björk and The Matrix. As well as that, he’s interested in Dune and videogames such as Vampire: The Masquerade, even Lego Bionicles, all which have distinct, futuristic vibes from the gothic to the steampunk. Drawing upon a more optimistic time where technology was entering daily lives, he hopes to also draw critical reflection on this time – but unlike corrupt technocrats, Pedro is aiming to bring back a hopeful perspective on the ever present relationship of humans and technology.