You won’t believe how trippy this digital artist makes old photos look

US President Thomas Jefferson once said that he liked the dreams of the future better than the history of the past. Luke Robson, a 20-year-old British digital collage artist, combines both. He mixes vintage photography with a trippy vision of the future.

Robson is a maestro at digital compositing and colour theory. He creates collage pieces that are retro in style but futuristic in subject matter. We spoke with him to understand his process and inspiration.

Inspiration and style

Your work is a combination of retro photos and intense colours. What inspired you to create these collages?

I have always enjoyed vintage photography. I love seeing images of people or settings that no longer exist. I wanted to bring these old photographs back to life by adding colour and manipulating them into my own form of surrealism. It is more interesting to create a scene that is completely surrealistic and far from reality. Usually, I find inspiration from the original source images themselves.

The creative process

How do you go about creating them?

I collect images, cut them up and experiment in Photoshop by adding different colours and elements. Often the images seem to form themselves. I also find inspiration from other artists. My favourites are Julien Pacaud and MiraRuido. They both make fantastic surreal collage art that never fails to inspire me.

If you had to choose your top three works, which ones would you go for?

It is hard to narrow it down, but How On Earth, Buck Up and The Perfect Bond are my favourites. These three are the most fun and visually captivating. They portray a story and have depth. How On Earth has nice family vibes. Buck Up feels motivational as the three deer wait to conjure enough courage to take a dive. The Perfect Bond looks magical and portrays themes of unity. I do not usually mean to portray strong messages, but sometimes they happen by themselves.