In my image of 2120, the cult of individualism would have progressed to the point where people have little to no interest in forming couples or being in romantic relationships. They are stuck between their instinctive need for love and the desire to protect their personal space. Unwillingness to compromise followed by a lack of emotional intelligence might put family institutions at the edge of extinction.

I envisioned a future where gender is now irrelevant. Colors usually associated with 'typical' gender roles are used on the two front characters, while the third one is a mix of the two. The three characters also share the same genderless look and attributes. I wanted their composition to evoke the shape of a club.

'Ambassadors from different countries are admitted to the residence of the king' — one of the values of the 5 hearts that I found. This metaphor can mean the need for humanity to accept distinct life forms as equal or even superior. What if in the future, artificial intelligence will develop the capacity for empathy and love? How will they see the difference in the level of consciousness between humanity, the animal and plant world, and themselves. And what will they feel about it? Perhaps the roles may change.

Historically, the seven of diamonds is a neutral card and associated with negotiation. When thinking about the future, my mind went straight to our relationship with the digital and how I fear we will eventually have to make a deal with ourselves, to stop the digital from taking over. Times like the ones we are currently living through show us the incredible power of technology, but with the rise of voice activation and self serving tech, we are at risk of being seduced and losing the human touch.

I've been a big fan of science fiction since I was a kid. Maybe in 100 years, technology will have advanced enough to colonize other planets. Inspired by authors like Bradbury, Huxley or Orwell, I imagine humanity being able to travel light-years away to discover new planets and, who knows, new intelligent life as well. Because, 'If it’s just us, seems like an awful waste of space'.

People living in the rhythm of a progressive 21st century often remember events of the past, where everything seemed to be simple and clear. While creating this illustration, I was inspired by the ideas of retrofuturism. I'm sure that in the future there will be muscle cars, rock-and-roll and minutes for fun too. I would like to see the future with optimism.

Given that I got a Queen I thought I'd reflect on what the ruling elite might look like in a distant (admittedly rather bleak) future. I've imagined them linked up to levitating life support chairs, permanently plugged into a VR feed in which they exist in some kind of exclusive reality, while also using it to follow major events and communicate with their subordinates. I wanted to work with the shape of the spade and have it reflect in my design as much as possible.

Diamonds in the French deck were generally linked to the economy and monarchy of the Middle Ages, being the card of the King of Diamonds someone powerful, rich and influential, king of kings and the economy at the same time. Who could play both roles in the future? Absolute sovereign of the economic functioning of the world. Ruler of all the invisible mechanisms that govern our society. Perhaps an artificial intelligence, raised as a higher entity? Always vigilant, always present, nothing escapes its control from its octahedral cubicle.