Disassembly, Places And Classic Motorcycles: Evoking Happy Memories Through The Photography Of Todd McLellan

“It all started from a kindergarten finger painting class”

These are the words you are greeted with when visiting the homepage of artist and photographer Todd McLellan, whose work ranges from disassembling old relics and throwing them in the air to capturing ordinary moments in place and somehow making them seem unusual. McLellan’s creativity started at a young age, and has been growing ever since.

“The only art my parents had kept of mine was a finger painting that I had done in kindergarten,” McLellan explains when speaking of the quote. “It was a painting of a willow tree done in a few different colors, not the greatest. That was the first thing on my path in the creative world.”

[pullquote]The only art my parents had kept of mine was a finger painting that I had done in kindergarten. It was a painting of a willow tree done in a few different colors, not the greatest. That was the first thing on my path in the creative world.[/pullquote]

While many photographers love capturing landscapes, food and portraits, in his recent “Disassembly” series McLellan shows his fascination with dismantling old relics and shooting them in unique ways. The items are pieces he has collected from street curbs and second-hand stores over the years, storing them and sometimes using them with the notion he would eventually like to photograph them.

Although in the past the artist has worked with still life photography, it wasn’t until he began to take objects apart that he really began to appreciate them. In fact, being able to take an object apart allows him to understand how the pieces work, which helps to inspire him on how they should be displayed, sometimes even “freeing” the pieces as shown above.

“My family has always been hands on with their work,” says McLellan. “We would try to repair things before even thinking of throwing them out. I’ve always had a fascination with the mechanical and how things work.”

While the “Disassembly” shots evoke a sense of organized chaos, his series on “Places” conjures a different feeling. Although there are not many people or images of movement, you get a sense of serenity and human presence. Instead of being told what people are doing in these designated destinations with tons of details, the viewer can imagine themselves in the scene and create the story from there.

You’d think it would be harder to capture an interesting shot when there isn’t much going on in the frame; however, McLellan makes it work. But, how does he choose where he’ll photograph?

“I have done many trips where I go to capture a specific image but get there and just can’t capture what I had imagined,” he says. “When I rely on human existence in those places it becomes very hard to capture what I had in my head. I like to capture these places how I have come across them without any manipulation of the scene.”

While the series created by McLellan are very diverse — not just with “Disassembly” and “Places” but also “Automotive,” “Motion,” “Pinhole Paris” and “Classic Motorcycles” — there is an overall message contained within the works. Through every photograph, whether it be an angled black-and-white shot of the Arc de Triomphe or kayaks laying idly on the beach, the goal is for the viewer to remember good times in their life.

[pullquote] When I rely on human existence in those places it becomes very hard to capture what I had in my head. I like to capture these places how I have come across them without any manipulation of the scene.[/pullquote]

Says McLellan, “Whether it be the time your uncle fell off the dock during the fantastic summer vacation in 1985, or the memories of your beating heart as you are about to launch off the side of snowy cliff with two planks strapped to your feet, look at the photographs, then look deep inside yourself to find that place.”

"Classic Motorcycles" — *“Classic Motorcycles”*

What happy memories do these photographs evoke for you?

All images courtesy of Todd McLellan. To view more of the artist’s work, check out his website.

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Jessica Festa

Jessica Festa is the editor of Epicure & Culture as well as Jessie on a Journey. She enjoys getting lost in new cities and having experiences you don’t read about in guidebooks. Some of her favorite travel experiences have been teaching English in Thailand, trekking her way through South America, backpacking Europe solo, road tripping through Australia, agritouring through Tuscany, and volunteering in Ghana.