This year’s festival motif was once again created by Elias Fleischer, with graphic design by Martin Klaffensteiner. Inspired by John Carpenter’s horror classic *The Thing* and the works of Francis Bacon, Fleischer draws a direct connection within the visual SLASH universe of 2026 from the SLASH 1/2 motif to the theme of the main festival: They drilled too deep and too greedily on the oil rig in the Arctic ice; now the black abyss has opened and is devouring everything within its reach.
