The surrealists, and the modern movement in painting as a whole, seemed to offer a key to the strange postwar world with its threat of nuclear war. The dislocations and ambiguities, in cubism and abstract art as well as the surrealists, reminded me of my childhood in Shanghai. J. G. Ballard abstractambiguityart share on social
There are signs, I think, that people aren't satisfied by consumerism: that people resent the fact that the most moral decision in their lives is choosing what colour their next car will be. J. G. Ballard carchoosecolour Change image and share on social
Electronic aids, particularly domestic computers, will help the inner migration, the opting out of reality. Reality is no longer going to be the stuff out there, but the stuff inside your head. It's going to be commercial and nasty at the same time. J. G. Ballard aidcommercialcomputer share on social
The chief role of the universities is to prolong adolescence into middle age, at which point early retirement ensures that we lack the means or the will to enforce significant change. J. G. Ballard adolescenceagechange Change image and share on social
Memories have huge staying power, but like dreams, they thrive in the dark, surviving for decades in the deep waters of our minds like shipwrecks on the sea bed. J. G. Ballard beddarkdecade Change image and share on social
A reality that is electronic... Once everybody's got a computer terminal in their home, to satisfy all their needs, all the domestic needs, there'll be a dismantling of the present broadcasting structure, which is far too limited and limiting. J. G. Ballard broadcastcomputerdismantle share on social
Yes, sometimes I think that all my writing is nothing more than the compensatory work of a frustrated painter. J. G. Ballard compensatoryfrustratepainter Change image and share on social
It's true that I have very little idea what I shall be writing next, but at the same time I have a powerful premonition of everything that lies ahead of me, even ten years ahead. J. G. Ballard aheadidealie Change image and share on social
I think of science fiction as being part of the great river of imaginative fiction that has flowed through English literature, probably for 400 or 500 years, well predating modern science. J. G. Ballard englishfictionflow Change image and share on social
I believe that if it were possible to scrap the whole of existing literature, all writers would find themselves inevitably producing something very close to SF ... No other form of fiction has the vocabulary of ideas and images to deal with the present, let alone the future. J. G. Ballard closedealexist share on social
