My aspiration is to fuel one’s imagination through the images that I create, to amplify the qualities and to stir the senses and to take you back to a period that is so special for so many and for some many reasons. It is this ability that I have built a reputation for that I have wanted to exploit in this collection and if by adding characters within the scene takes the piece to another level then why not.

What I am conveying through this piece is how we saw things as a child playing with these toys, where we truly used our imagination to play. We may have been setting He-Man and his companions out on the shag pile carpet or on the kitchen table but in our head we were in Eternia and we weren’t leaving until it was time for dinner!

I wish I had my toys still but I, along with my Brothers and Sister played the hell out of them so they ended up in the ‘Sandy Sunshine playgroup’ jumble stall. A low point was playing with the Sorceress (ooh err) on De-Panne beach and being called back for a ride on the go-carts and forgetting the winged beauty only to return to see the tide take her away. MERDE!

Castle Grayskull was one of the best, if not the best toys I owned, damn it brings it all back just thinking about it! This piece was always going to focus on it, with the aim of building a magical landscape that I have done so many times throughout my ‘Storyteller’ works but then take it to a different direction by showing what I so often eluded to, yet maintaining integrity and not buggering about with them and making them into something that they weren’t and instead making them come to life, to be less plastic. Through my signature lighting style and the magical detailing that I inject, these iconic action figures are hopefully as you pictured them. Anyone else have a possessed Ram Man? Mine seemed to always aim his leap straight into my bloody Nesquik!

This collection was always intended to be fun, to feel great looking back with the aim to look forward and I have done exactly that. It has been great fun, this piece especially as it was the first one where I moved into something completely different and I have every intention of building on that in future works. ‘Hadouken’ (Streetfighter 2) is a further example on how this has worked so well – so this is just Round One! Look within ‘The Memory Remains 2’ toyshop for a clue as to what could follow up ‘I Have The Power’ next year.

My aspiration is to fuel one’s imagination through the images that I create, to amplify the qualities and to stir the senses and to take you back to a period that is so special for so many and for some many reasons. It is this ability that I have built a reputation for that I have wanted to exploit in this collection and if by adding characters within the scene takes the piece to another level then why not.

What I am conveying through this piece is how we saw things as a child playing with these toys, where we truly used our imagination to play. We may have been setting He-Man and his companions out on the shag pile carpet or on the kitchen table but in our head we were in Eternia and we weren’t leaving until it was time for dinner!

I wish I had my toys still but I, along with my Brothers and Sister played the hell out of them so they ended up in the ‘Sandy Sunshine playgroup’ jumble stall. A low point was playing with the Sorceress (ooh err) on De-Panne beach and being called back for a ride on the go-carts and forgetting the winged beauty only to return to see the tide take her away. MERDE!

Castle Grayskull was one of the best, if not the best toys I owned, damn it brings it all back just thinking about it! This piece was always going to focus on it, with the aim of building a magical landscape that I have done so many times throughout my ‘Storyteller’ works but then take it to a different direction by showing what I so often eluded to, yet maintaining integrity and not buggering about with them and making them into something that they weren’t and instead making them come to life, to be less plastic. Through my signature lighting style and the magical detailing that I inject, these iconic action figures are hopefully as you pictured them. Anyone else have a possessed Ram Man? Mine seemed to always aim his leap straight into my bloody Nesquik!

This collection was always intended to be fun, to feel great looking back with the aim to look forward and I have done exactly that. It has been great fun, this piece especially as it was the first one where I moved into something completely different and I have every intention of building on that in future works. ‘Hadouken’ (Streetfighter 2) is a further example on how this has worked so well – so this is just Round One! Look within ‘The Memory Remains 2’ toyshop for a clue as to what could follow up ‘I Have The Power’ next year.

I have so many vivid memories as a kid being taken to football matches by my Dad, Michael, be it Saturdays at Luton Town or long trips up to Elland Road. Yet it was the real treat when you were taken to Wembley to watch an England game, it was always about how you felt seeing those famous towers and all of the football coaches parked up that I remember more than the game itself. Coming home with a flag or sweatbands that you would cherish long after the game.

I’ve only been to the new Wembley once (all part of being a Leeds fan!) and whilst it is a magnificent arena it is nothing in comparison to the stature of seeing those towers appear. So that was the aim for this piece, to create a scene where the stadium loomed up suddenly between buildings with a real sense of magnificence. Nostalgia personified.

What we see took an absolute age as I wanted to create a perfect scenario within the London street scene. I wanted to feature an iconic green tiled boozer and a proper old-school high street shop that we can all relate to. I saw the opportunity to link nicely in with the format of ‘The Memory Remains’ and I am really pleased with how it has turned out!

The piece is actually celebrating the World Cup win of 1966 with so much of the details paying homage to the Ramsey boys who lifted the ‘Jules Rimet’, there are some really subtle but beautiful details for you to seek out. However, the more you look you realise that the scene is actually set in the late 80’s, references to ‘Live Aid’ and the Queen sell out Wembley concert all help to build the story.

Those who follow my work closely will know that I love to inject a multi-layered narrative where possible and this is the case with this piece. ‘Greavsies Rentals’ is a quirky TV rental shop like so many of us can remember. This detail in itself provided a really great quality to the scene but right from the start I had wanted to feature a reference to the wheeler and dealer Del Boy.

I had originally intended to just have his three wheeler parked up in the side street but the more personality that grew from the rentals shop and the questionable quality of the goods I chose to showcase the source of the TV’s by insinuating that it was actually Mr Trotter himself that was supplying Greavsie! It is just a wonderful bit of randomness that I feel takes this piece away from simply being able to be embraced by football fans. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did creating it.