Tales from the Loop

In 1954, the Swedish government ordered the construction of the world's largest particle accelerator. The facility was complete in 1969, located deep below the pastoral countryside of Mälaröarna. The local population called this marvel of technology The Loop. These are its strange tales. Simon Stålenhag's paintings of Swedish 1980s suburbia, populated by fantastic machines and strange beasts, have spread like wildfire on the Internet. His portrayal of a childhood against a backdrop of old Volvo cars and coveralls, combined with strange and mystical machines, creates a unique atmosphere that is both instantly recognizable and utterly alien. Here for the first time, Simon Stålenhag's first set of paintings are collected in book form - together with texts that tell the stories of the people who lived in the shadows of the machines. These are the memories and notes from the youth that once called the land of The Loop their home. "Incredible paintings of sci-fi suburbia will make you wish you were Swedish." The Verge "My Life as a Dog mixed with Transformers absolutely brilliant." SVT (Swedish National Television) "The hangover of an abandoned government science programme. Dinosaurs show up too in this quiet war of multiple worlds." The Guardian