911 Dreaming
In a pristine barn conversion with panoramic views over rural Aberdeenshire, in Scotland, Chris Labrooy struggles momentarily to sum up how he makes a living. “It’s really difficult to describe what I do,” says the 40-year-old Scotsman. “I get up in the morning and make pictures. It’s a lifestyle that gives me a lot of freedom to pursue different ideas. I have called myself a digital image maker working at the intersection of art and design. Does that sound a bit vague?”
It is difficult to pigeonhole Labrooy because his work is largely without precedent. Having studied product design at the Royal College of Art, the young graduate became increasingly absorbed by the digital realm, combining his knowledge and understanding of tactile objects with a growing fascination for the surreal.
“I transitioned into the digital world after seeing the advances in technology there,” Labrooy explains. “I moved from making tangible, physical objects to making photorealistic images. What I managed to do in the digital world was capture those objects – render them in a realistic way – but with CGI and all these new digital tools there was no limit to my imagination. I could create any environment and place any single object into that context.”
Labrooy’s past work will be familiar to many Porsche fans, using as it often does classic 911 cars transposed into dreamy, desert landscapes. Palm Springs is a favourite source of inspiration, as is mid-century architecture. But his calling card is the unexpected and occasionally ridiculous. “I like to juxtapose different elements and am always searching for those moments of happiness. Something like an inflatable flamingo or a swimming pool really symbolise happiness for me, so I always like to have those elements in my images and animation.”
The intense heat, dryness and vivid colour of Labrooy’s work is a far cry from the often cold and harsh environment of his home in remote Scotland, so much so that it seems like the digital sphere acts as a form of escapism. He admits that the contrast is essential, and that if he had not moved home after a spell living in California, it would not feature so heavily in his work today. But where do the cars fit in to all this? An air-cooled Porsche seems like a strange muse for an artist whose work is at once so modern and otherworldly.
“I’ve always been into cars, ever since I was a small boy,” Labrooy says. “I’d play with them, then I would draw them, then drive them in computer games. Even as a youngster I was fascinated by the design of cars. I remember seeing an episode of Top Gear where they went to the Royal College of Art and from the next day onwards I was telling my friends that that was where I wanted to go. To study car design.”
The reality of art college saw Labrooy side-tracked into painting and sculpture and cars were all but forgotten for a while, but an increasing focus on product design meant they would make an inevitable return. “Of all consumer products,” he says, “cars are the ultimate object of desire. They are such complex things, with unique and very specific identities.”
Images © Chris Labrooy / Porsche. Source: Moments of happiness: The art of Chris Labrooy – 9:11 Magazine.