Spokespeople from the Giger Museum have just announced that the Swiss surrealist artist H.R. Giger passed away yesterday of injuries sustained from a fall. His work could be considered prophetic for its explorations of the relationship between organic life and technology, a vision he called “biomechanical”. He was best known for his influential design work for the “Alien” movies. Prior to that he collaborated with cult director Alejandro Jodorowsky on a proposed film adaptation of Dune that was unfortunately never made.

Giger is also known amongst certain free speech activists and punk rock fans for his involvement in the trial of Jello Biafra (the lead singer of the Dead Kennedys), who was prosecuted for distributing copies of the supposedly obscene Giger painting “Landscape XX” with the album “Frankenchrist”. Though Biafra won the case, the legal battle nearly bankrupted his label Alternative Tentacles. Giger’s work has also been featured in Omni magazine and inspired the interior design of bars located in Tokyo, New York and Switzerland. Interviews with Giger are featured in the documentary “Jodorowsky’s Dune” which is currently playing in theaters. Rest in peace H.R. Giger.