About

Ian Phillips McLaren (b. 1960) is a British contemporary artist, his varied practice combines contemporary and 19th century photographic processes, video, sculpture, performance and animation.

His body of work examines dementia as a state of being, memory, personal identity and the construction of self in our visual culture, portraiture and self-representation.

Ian’s current work, The ‘Self’ & The ‘Other’ is an exploration of the ‘Self’ through the lens of ancient Roman portraiture – The ‘Other’ referring to the ways in which identities are formed.

“By combining traditional 5×4 inch analogue paper negatives of my self with hybrid digital negatives of ancient Roman portraits and fragments, I’m re-imagining the historical self-portrait, in a similar vein to how the Romans re-imagined (Hellenistic) Greek art for their own purposes”.

Education:
MA Fine Art, Cambridge School of Art, Cambridge.

Ian Phillips McLaren is a British artist, born and brought up in Glasgow, Scotland (b.1960).

He began photography in 1985, buying a second hand camera to embark on a photography course. He shared studio space in the Glasgow artists’ cooperative, WASPS and his career began.

In 1989 he was the subject of a BBC TV film ’A style of one’s own’ and shortly after became Artist in Residence at the Glasgow School of Art, teaching photography and darkroom techniques. In 1990 he exhibited his art and life in Glasgow as part of the City of Culture. In the early 1990’s McLaren produced his first album cover, followed by a series of portraits for American Vogue.

1992 he moved to London and became best known for portraiture of artists and celebrities including the Spice Girls, Justin Timberlake, Billy Connolly, Lee Evans, Orlando Bloom and many others.

Ian is a four times nominee and recipient of an honourable mention in the International Photography Awards.

‘In the Mist’ 2016, marked the beginning of new work, in Hatfield Forest followed by still life studies. Working and experimenting with alternative and early print processes, Ian spent seven months refining and bettering the gum bichromates to form the grid of Gwen ‘Did I Want To Be Here?’

His client portfolio included EMI, Polydor, Pixi Make-up, Topshop, BBC, Bank of New York, Barclays Bank, Slaughter & May, Vidal Sassoon, M&S and magazines GQ, Arena, Sunday Times Magazine, Smash hits, Top of the Pops and Q Magazine. He has been featured in several media interviews including Kirsty Young’s programme for BBC 5 live.

After 30 years as a commercial photographer, it was time to focus on his own personal work. Driven out of the need for self knowledge, he enrolled on a MA Fine Art degree at Cambridge School of Art, studying and researching themes such as self, personal identity, portraiture, self-representation and perception through a Jungian lens.

“Researching Jungian theories will help me to achieve a greater understanding of ‘self’ and that will add depth and authenticity to myself as an artist”.

Carl Gustav Jung theorised that using visualisation techniques can enable you to have; “completely new thoughts and creative ideas that can present themselves from the unconscious along with thoughts and ideas that have never been conscious before”.

During his time at Cambridge School of Art, Ian experimented with various fine art disciplines such as sculpture, sound, performance and multi-media.

“By using projections, photography and sculpture I’m excited by the prospects of developing my work into new dynamic installations and releasing my work from the limitations of the gallery wall”.