Now based in Scotland, Ian McQue grew
up in Sunderland, once home to some of
the UK’s biggest shipyards. Although not
aware of it at the time, seeing massive
hulls being prepared down on the docks
would have a profound effect on Ian as an
artist. “It wasn’t until I began posting my
personal work online that all this rusty
industrial stuff came pouring out,” he says.“All of these ideas must have been lurking
about in the back of my mind, waiting for
an opportunity to show themselves.”
Inspired early on by the ‘used universe’
look of Star Wars, and even more by the
deep-space settings seen in Alien, Ian has
built up his own universe featuring
gargantuan space hulks levitating over
complex, futuristic landscapes.“I think it’s the dynamic quality and
pent-up energy apparent in an object
which is clearly too heavy to float, that
intrigues me. There’s an immediate
narrative underscoring these images too,
which is something you’re always on the
look-out for as a concept artist. How does
that work, what sort of world can that exist
in, and who pilots these things?”FROM SHIPYARDS TO SPACE HULKS
How Ian McQue’s personal work has become a creative industry of its own...REMORA
The largest of the four models based
on Ian’s designs, Remora is a 1:35
scale replica of an imaginary airship.SELF-PUBLISHING
Three of the four books Ian
has published, each exploring
an aspect of the universe that
he’s created through his
personal work.WALDO
The Waldo model is a good
starting point for fans,
produced in collaboration with
Industria Mechanika.Interview