|
|
|
Dear Friends, Flying cars may still be the stuff of science fiction and fantasy, but that hasn’t prevented many from dreaming of a not-too-distant future where one minute we could be driving our car on land and the next we are soaring through the sky at the press of a button – especially when stuck in traffic on a Friday evening! |
 |
|
|
|
French photographer Renaud Marion has long been fascinated by the idea of getting behind the wheel of a flying car. Like many of us, the 39-year-old was exposed to plenty of depictions of flying cars during his childhood. From the airborne creations of comic book artist Jean Giraud, to the flying cars of the silver screen – like the landspeeder in Star Wars, the DeLorean in Back to the Future and the spinners in Blade Runner – the images of these iconic vehicles became etched in Marion’s imagination. Creating a flying car in some way, shape or form became a lifelong ambition for Marion and his stunning photographic series, entitled Air Drive, is the realisation of that dream. 
Comprising nine visually arresting images, each one with a flying car as its subject, and incorporating clever photography and skilful graphical editing, Air Drive is a clever take on the concept of flying cars. This portfolio is now available at the MB&F M.A.D.Gallery. Each image is a carefully crafted mise-en-scène that the Paris-based photographer has put together. For the backgrounds, Marion shot seemingly nondescript urban landscapes in the French capital and Geneva, which were packed with the straight lines, hulking concrete slabs and large glass panels of brutalist architecture – sterile backdrops leaving the viewer wondering if it is the year 1970 or 2070. 
But it is the automobiles hovering in the foreground that provide the delicious twist. To create his vision of a ‘flying car’, Marion has looked to the world of classic automobiles. In each image, a gorgeous vintage car in pristine condition – Chevrolets, Mercedes, Jaguars, Aston Martins and Porsches – is levitating at the roadside, suspended a foot or so off the ground, waiting for its driver to return before they set off for a gravity-defying cruise around town. |
|
||||||||||
 |
Marion photographed the cars either by chance or by arrangement, after classic car collectors kindly lent him their prized possessions for a shoot. He then composited the bleak cityscapes and the shots of the cars. Marion made the vehicles’ capacity for flight seem even more plausible by removing the tyres and filling in the wheel wells to endow each car with a sleeker profile. 
The effect is subtle yet mesmerising, and such is the realism of the images that the mind is tricked into believing they are indeed enchanted, classic vehicles ready for take-off. Marion admits he would like to fly one of these glorious machines for real during his lifetime, and I am sure he’s not the only one. But for the time being we will all just have to daydream – and there is no better way to fuel your imagination and let your fantasies soar by marvelling at Renaud Marion’s Air Drive series at the M.A.D.Gallery. Thanks for staying in touch through our newsletters. For real-time updates, please follow us on our Facebook and Instagram pages @mbfmadgallery.
|
|
