‘He emerged rapidly from cryogenic sleep. Muffled noises assaulted his consciousness. Something was wrong, he knew subconsciously as he struggled into his suit. Red lights were flashing. After his long journey one thought echoed in his mind. I need to get home safe. As he explored his surroundings he noticed several breaches and a lot of damage to his ship. He needed to get to the escape pod was his last thought, as the world exploded around him and something crashed into his head. ‘Houston to Icarus I, do you read’ came over the radio. ‘Houston to Icarus I, come in’. No response. The radio calls echoed unheard within his helmet. The only audience the cold indifference of space.’

Astronaut 5 of 13. A Personal Favourite

The background itself is also a jagged, uneven, rough bowl. Why did I do this? Because I wanted to increase the feeling of unevenness and chaos in the piece. A perfectly round background with everything in frame would be a lot more peaceful and serene, and I think would work very well with this peace, but you would be left to discover the sadness through looking harder. Here I feel I have used the chaos of the wreck to show this astronauts final moments, to alert your clearly something is not quite right/is wrong/is off. This to me, with the broken frame, like a broken ship, helps communicate this to the viewer in my mind.

Tiny illustration and desaturated colours are a departure for me.