Simon Stålenhag's The Electric State shows post-war world

Virtual reality is becoming increasingly popular and sophisticated in the modern-day world, providing people with the opportunity to experience new worlds and enter entirely alternate realities. But there is a darker side to the ever-improving technology - one that has been candidly portrayed in a set of illustrations, which depict a desolate and empty world destroyed by a war between robots and people as a result of humans' obsession with virtual reality. Set two decades ago, in 1997, the artwork by Swedish author and illustrator Simon Stålenhag charts the travels of a young girl and her robot toy as she journeys across a horrifying wasteland, which is all that remains of the US. Thought-provoking: Many of Simon's illustrations show deserted areas that seem to reflect this reality's extreme poverty In Stålenhag's reality, there is no Bill Clinton, no OJ Simpson trial, and no Britney Spears to fill up the minds of Americans. Instead, the world looks as if it's about to end, having been crushed to ruins by the excesses of a human race overtaken by consumerism.