Behind The Artworks: Disorientation - Survival Mode (2023)

In Disorientation, we do most of the work in-house, including designing our own album covers. We prefer having an organic sound and we want our art to reflect that, which explains why the process starts with a paper and pen drawing. After scanning the finished piece, some tweaks are done with imaging software to optimize the artwork for computer viewing.

 

In contrast to our self-titled EP, which was a visual representation of our overall sound as a band, the starting point for the artwork of Survival Mode was the lyrical content. Since self-harm is considered a coping mechanism, we thought it was an accurate portrayal of our EP’s content. The overall theme of Survival Mode is surviving unpleasant situations on a psychological level, witnessing the many aspects of feeling unwell, and not hiding from them. Examining and observing the feelings of despair as they really are without any sugarcoating.

 

We chose to depict self-harm because it’s an unesthetic expression of distress. It shows what you don’t want to see. Self-harm is a metaphor of anything you do, even if it’s considered unacceptable, even if others around you are bothered by it, to be able to deal with the hurt and keep going in spite of it. To us this was the ultimate representation of the music we were going to release, and the visual expression of what it is to be in survival mode.