Designer and illustrator Aedan Roberts admits he is an exhibitionist. ‘I love to be naked. But the society that I currently live in has very, very puritanical views of nudity. We are a society that has no problems with violence, but the minute there is a nipple on a woman, they’re all up in arms. It goes crazy. And to me that’s ridiculous. I think nudity is so much less scandalous and harmful than violence, and so I wanted to create this series where I am taking that idea of the absurdity of being nude and translated that into something than can emphasise that ridiculousness.’
In his Nüdtendo series, Roberts took beloved Nintendo characters and depicted them devoid of everything that made them comfortable. ‘I’m capturing that moment in a nightmare. It’s the common moment in popular culture, where you’re about to take a test and you forgot to study and then you look down and you realise that none of your clothing is on. And it’s that moment of realisation, it’s that shock and horror of being out in a public place naked without realising it. And that’s where all of these expressions come from.’ And as an avid gamer himself, Aedan’s affinity for these characters drove his portrayals. ‘I tried to stay true to the characters, so some of them are a little more happy than others. I think that it helps to represent the full spectrum of reactions. The vast majority of us would be horrified to be caught naked in a