CONCEPT
Grown-Up Playground is an illustration series that observes adulthood through the lens of play.
The project reimagines familiar environments - IKEA showrooms, construction sites, offices, and other spaces - as contemporary playgrounds. Each setting is translated into a specific type of “game”: climbing, navigating, performing, competing, or role-playing. While these behaviors mirror childhood play, they appear here as structured and socially coded actions embedded in adult life. The series suggests that play does not disappear with age, but becomes regulated, repeated, and shaped by external systems.
The illustrations are constructed as flat, stage-like compositions. Perspective is intentionally inconsistent and scale is slightly distorted, allowing multiple interactions to unfold within a single frame. This approach emphasizes the artificial and designed nature of these environments.
Grown-Up Playground
The project is developed as a series of 5–7 works* in a uniform format (approx. 195 × 140 mm), designed to be displayed as a cohesive set.
Each illustration is placed inside a transparent plastic box, referencing toy packaging and collectible objects. The works incorporate graphic elements such as titles, warnings and labels, creating the illusion of miniature playsets while remaining visibly two-dimensional.
This presentation introduces a layer of gamification, suggesting that adult behaviors - from work to social rituals - can be perceived as repeatable and performative structures.
*The series is currently in development and will be expanded into a final selection of works by June–July 2026.
Format & presentation
The project uses the visual language of toy packaging as a framing device rather than a subject. Each illustration is placed inside a transparent, product-like container, drawing a parallel between collectible objects and structured adult environments.
This approach loosely relates to the current surge of collectible “blind box” toys, where value is shaped by repetition, variation, and the logic of collecting. While not depicted directly, this system informs how the works are presented as contained, repeatable units.
At its core, the series is based on a simple observation: as people grow older, play does not disappear, but becomes structured. Open-ended play is replaced by systems of behavior we recognize as work, routine, or social roles. Through this logic, the project invites viewers to recognize these patterns within their own lives, positioning adulthood not as the absence of play, but as its transformation into shared and structured forms.
Finished illustratons of the series
display mockup
display mockup 3D view
Illustrations in progress
