Inspired by science fiction, French photographer Renaud Marion envisages a world of flying vintage cars and depopulated retro-futuristic cityscapes...
‘FLYING’ VINTAGE CARS
The M.A.D.Gallery in Geneva, Switzerland has on display nine visionary images of ‘flying’ cars from the series Air Drive by French photographer Renaud Marion.
Growing up in the 1980s, Marion thought that by the year 2000 everyone would be piloting flying cars, like the landspeeders from Star Wars. Marion’s dream of one day piloting a floating vehicle hasn’t yet become reality but in this series of artworks, the 39-year-old has brought to life the ‘hover’ vehicles of his childhood fantasies.
But he has included a neat twist: While the vehicles’ levitation definitely smacks of sci-fi, the cars are modified vintage classics, serenely suspended above the ground.
“For the first part of the series, photographed in Geneva, I chose the cars simply by walking down the street. I looked for cars parked on the side of the road as I wanted to use real-size models instead of miniatures,” he says.
Marion chose to shoot classic vehicles because they resembled his childhood idea of what a flying car should look like.
The first vehicles he photographed included a Chevrolet El Camino, a Mercedes 300 SL Roadster and a Jaguar XK120.
These pictures grabbed a lot of attention when the artist initially posted them online. Classic car lovers, science fiction fans and photo and art admirers were suddenly followers of Renaud Marion.
This newfound recognition allowed Marion access to car collectors, some of whom lent their prized possessions to the photographer for his Air Drive follow-up shoot in Paris.
“As a child, I imagined the new millennium with flying cars, spaceships, parallel worlds, extra-terrestrials living with us on earth and time travel,” says the photographer. “We would all be dressed up in space outfits and equipped with laser pistols. These are the dreams of a normal child, I think… I hope.”
Photography: Renaud Marion