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The piece opens a window into a pretty grim looking Edinburgh flat that on first glance you would identify as being in the 1990s at the time of the first film, the room is literally littered with objects from the films narrative and also other detail to reinforce the era. Peeling and rotten walls give up music references from the original soundtrack and show scrawled messages that hint at paranoia and utter randomness as a result of being high, or low but are actually selected lines from the cult song that is synonymous to the film - Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’. A dirtied window casts light into the room whilst offering a grey view out to the Edinburgh Castle, the window also symbolises the good and the bad that exists through the dark forces that are let into the room from outside (drugs bought from street dealers, stolen goods to feed their habit) and also representing light through the darkness, a different life exists beyond their four walls.

Danny Boyles’ film was eye-openingly brutal and real, it was incredibly cool and tinged with surreal sinister moments such as the scene where the dead baby crawls the ceiling in Rentons’ nightmare. I wanted to acknowledge this and the randomness of parts of the film, to create a kind of ‘WTF’ detail so the baby is within the scene but a plastic doll, taped to the ceiling by his mates. Just a bizarre prank by those who are so high and entrapped that they could climb the walls themselves or is it done in a much more sinister way? An ageing TV plays the classic goal scored by Scotlands’ Archie Gemmill against Holland in the 1978 World Cup, the commentary from the goal spoken by Barry Coleman has also been immortalised within the scene, further reinforcing the characters obsession for ‘that goal’.

However when you look through into the next room (immersed in an orange glow to play on the colour ways and graphical execution of the films’ marketing) you will see certain objects that are placed to confuse. iPads weren’t invented in 1996?! The country didn’t vote for independence either? That is because it isn’t 1996, it is 2017 - the time of T2 Trainspotting - the sequel. Through the characters addictions and their demons growing ever taller behind them time and ultimately life has stood still for the past 2 decades. No money, no hope, just a biting reality that the bell of age has rang loudly in their heads for way too long. How can you see clearly if the sunlight is behind you? You can’t see your path if you are always looking backwards, roll Archie Gemmill. I set out to create a scene that shows a walk through from room to room that represents the journey in life, not the entire lifecycle but from that point of seemingly no return to embracing the power of ones’ choice, choose life. The brightest window in the room signifies that point of hopefully no return.

My aim was truly do justice to this epic piece of British film making and to embrace being lucky enough to be part of such a great era. I wanted to show the harshness of their life dominated by drugs, to cast light into the darkest corners and to create a intense piece of art that fans of the film would love spotting all of the references but I also wanted to add tiny details that look a little deeper at the impact of the abuse, how it can release a positive change in a suppressed soul, representing an evolution, a transition albeit a temporary one. On the flip side how it can completely and utterly crush goodness and regress the most positive person - this is subtle within the piece as I didn’t want it to detract or confuse but look through the smoke to find the chrysalis, caterpillar and butterfly, or is it the other away around.

Choose Life.

From watching the earlier films as a family to making my Christmas list, writing down Argos catalogue codes whilst listening to Dire Straits and Eddie Grant - Star Wars evokes so many wonderful and vivid images of a brilliant childhood.

Taking on such a beast as this shouldn’t be under-estimated, anything must be done with authenticity, doing justice to an incredible narrative and to inspire a fan base like no other.

I would never confess to being an out-and-out die-hard Star Wars nerd, fair play to those who are but it is the earlier films that really appeal to me for the reasons above. This is why I feel comfortable and excited taking them on, and ultimately happier when doing so as I cherish my childhood and family more than ever now.

‘Battles Passed’ is my first landscape scene inspired by Star Wars and I am so proud of the end result. This is such an ultra-commercial and over saturated subject so anything I did would only ever run in line with what my work represents and offer something different, anything else doesn’t interest me and wouldn’t be authentic to my art.

The aim with this piece was to create something subtle, something with genuine class, where the real detail could actually be missed at first, instead taking it for simply a beautiful landscape scene. I didn’t intend to shout with this one, just to do it justice and I am so proud of the end result.

I loved the battles of Endor, it was the intensity of the fight set amongst such a rich forest setting that was such a contrast to those set within a ship for example. I wanted to suggest remnants of battles passed, to show how nature lives on, slowly taking back control against the harshness of the man-made objects. Continuing this concept of battles passed I felt it apt to include a subtle reference to those faced by the late Carrie Fisher. Less is more...

The difference with this piece is that it isn’t a scene that is driven by the detail in the foreground but instead focuses on the car in full view and full motion - just as it about to hit that critical 88MPH. With the lightning kicking off in the distance over the city there is something quite special about the car leaving everything behind. The composition is set so that you could quite easily simply be a bystander on the footpath just lucky enough to capture this dramatic sight. A few seconds later you’re stood there with just a spinning number plate and fire trails wondering if you really saw that.

Whilst creating this piece an earlier study involved focusing much more on the car and where the background became a subtle backdrop. I chose to rework it so it fitted better with the collection as a whole but what this meant is that the level of detail in and around the Delorean is insane as that was the challenge that I set myself. Even though the car is now reduced down in composition you can still clearly see the detail and that sense of drama and movement - something different for me as the cars tend to be static. 

This was a technically challenging piece to put it politely, piecing together the tunnel with a new opening and cliff that framed it whilst also softening the scene. I always seek to inject a dramatic light source where possible and the detailing within the tunnel was the perfect platform for this. Personally, I am really pleased with the sky and the drama within it, but something was missing, spotted it?!

The colour palette is soft and subtle, beautifully depicting the memories that so many have of the earlier films. I wanted to not hold back and feature key details that draw in so many fans whilst staying true to my style of working.

The subject is so well saturated within the commercial art world and I have wanted to do something a little different, to do the films justice and not to portray characters that are different to how they were envisaged and conceived.

The aim was not just to create a scene that was really strong visually but one where you could start to spot subtle yet massive details that would hint at something deeper. An unbreakable bond maybe?

A key aspiration was to create a sense of movement and time passing yet within an arid and stark environment where the winds blow the sand across like waves, exposing objects previously hidden. The question is, are the winds caused by mother nature or from something about to land?

I wanted to create a scene that was moving, where those return from battles passed. By leaving so much to the imagination I hope that yours runs away with you, to re-engage with your childhood memories from a cracking era.

So much has been left open to interpretation here, it has been great fun to be a part of and a long time coming and I hope that I have done justice to such an incredible cinematic masterpiece.

Just as an aside, the song that inspired the overriding concept of objects being revealed and picked up by a strong wind that blew in was actually ‘Vermilion Part 2’ by Slipknot! Random yes, watch the video and you’ll see where I am coming from, possibly!

‘Doctor Who’ was a must, it sticks in my head from watching with my family. The quirkiness was great but even with the ropey special effects it had a darkness that caused a particular recurring nightmare that I will leave well alone!

I felt that there was a big opportunity to create something really special, something that didn’t appear to have been done to date, a scene loaded with an incredible amount of detail that was truly authentic and that the die-hard fans could embrace. It’s not a subject that you can rush or take on lightly for sure.

The catalyst for ‘Time Lord’ was the huge new chapter with the series that saw the introduction of the first female Doctor played by the talented Jodie Whittaker, an actress who I had the pleasure of meeting through my obsession with the ITV drama ‘Broadchurch’ with the plot truly capturing my imagination and the soundtrack inspiring so many of my works.

I love to inject a subtle narrative within the detail of the scene and this was embraced with the battle of control between the new arrival and the previous Doctor. There are small references to seek out that suggest something is going on, it just depends on how your mind works!

A piece created to enjoy and to interact with, to stir up great memories, to take a trip back in time whilst looking to the future - see what I did there? There is so much to spot and interpret, some obvious, some random, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on what is going on down in the woods.

I absolutely loved working on ‘Time Lord’, and it’s given me the opportunity for closure. Those bloody Cybermen scared the hell out of me as a kid so the saying ‘putting lipstick on a pig’ has been well and truly actioned here, it’s over!

We’re all stories in the end. Just make it a good one, eh?