OT creepy Japanese paint

[debriano]

Hi! Do you remember the creepy Japanese paint in the bunker? Of course you do. That paint doesn't have a real author but I'm pretty sure Dontnod use some source or similar artwork to create it.
Do you know something about it or if there's a specific name for this kind of art? Thank you!

[Valdyr]

It reminds me of "guro" art by artists like Waita Uziga. I don't recommend googling him if you value your sanity. I thought it was odd to see in the bunker, though, because so far the Dark Room stuff seems to be more focused on BDSM style bondage and not hardcore serial killer mutilation and butchering. Maybe just another clumsy attempt to communicate "these guys are bad guys", like the S&M poster stuff in Nathan's room.

[RE-L124C41]

Yeah, that guro artwork was kind of misplaced there. Funny thing is Max just said "Of course it is an original." Do I remember this correctly? While she said that I was like "Whaaat, that is what comes to your mind first?" And just to go more OT...since I am quite into BDSM and fetish lifestyle I was always irritated in a kind of "now it is getting personal" way by the implications the pictures should give the player about Nathan (I am just talking about the pictures in his room now, not the DR ones). Like "Oh, that guy is into bondage, something must be seriously wrong with him". If you take it seriously BDSM is about the trust you have into another person and if you do it right it is fun and enriches your daily life and the life with your partner. In the context of LiS it is mainly used to visualize a sort of deranged mindset.

[debriano]

Thank you both! And yes, I've seen Waita Uziga's work and now my face is ಠ_ಠ.

[Valdyr]

Originally posted by TenshiToOni:

Yeah, that guro artwork was kind of misplaced there. Funny thing is Max just said "Of course it is an original." Do I remember this correctly? While she said that I was like "Whaaat, that is what comes to your mind first?" And just to go more OT...since I am quite into BDSM and fetish lifestyle I was always irritated in a kind of "now it is getting personal" way by the implications the pictures should give the player about Nathan (I am just talking about the pictures in his room now, not the DR ones). Like "Oh, that guy is into bondage, something must be seriously wrong with him". If you take it seriously BDSM is about the trust you have into another person and if you do it right it is fun and enriches your daily life and the life with your partner. In the context of LiS it is mainly used to visualize a sort of deranged mindset.

I'm not particularly into BDSM myself, but I also noticed and rolled my eyes at this. It's not something I can blame DONTNOD for, it's a very common trope in fiction. A good example is the horrible "50 Shades of Grey" "romance" novel, where the male lead being into BDSM is used as a reflection of how mentally damaged he is and how he was abused as a child or whatever. I also remember it being in a couple of Metal Gear Solid games, where Revolver Ocelot and Colonel Volgin got off on torturing prisoners and Vamp was a masochist. Any kind of sexual interest that isn't "normal" is just used for shock value and to show how sinister and emotionally sadistic/evil/dangerous somebody is, and I imagine DONTNOD were also going for that with the "Check it out, he likes guro too, clearly a crazy psycho killer" picture in the bunker. I can't think of any fiction where there's a "normal" character who just happens to be a sexual deviant, without it being played up as a joke or being used for really heavy-handed preaching about how we should be tolerant and open-minded, which is just as simplistic and cringe-inducing to me as reducing it to an "evil" personality trait.