Lewis Morley Jnr aka Lewis P Morley is an Australian artist, sculptor, toy maker, special effects craftsman, prop maker and all round creative wizard. We were introduced to Lewis thanks to our mutual acquaintance Mike McGann – as Mike, Lewis and fellow artist Marilyn Pride all lived together during the 1970’s in a self described sci-fi fan commune in Sydney, Australia.

Lewis was born in 1957 and is part of the first generation of children to grow up with television. He importantly also came of age in the 1960s, a time of sci fi, space exploration, pioneering work in stop motion / visual effects, comic books and toys – all inspirations that guide Lewis’ creative work to this very day. With Lewis himself stating:

“The wonder of childhood is still an important motivator for my work, on some level almost all the stuff I do is satisfying my inner child!“

Importantly, both of Lewis’ parents were also artists. His father being celebrated photographer Lewis Morley Snr, and his mother Patricia an accomplished illustrator. So it is safe to say that Lewis was destined by the gods themselves to lead a creative life! And indeed he has done just that.

(A photo of some of Lewis’ recent miniature art below)

Lewis has only just retired from his professional work, and is still making art of all types at a furious pace. So we decided to ask Lewis some questions about his many years in the Australian film industry, his father, Mike McGann, toys, comics, fandom, giant robots, and much much more.

Read it all, in the Art Talk Interview, below…

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Mike McGann is an Australian artist who was prolific in the Australian Sci Fi scene in the 1970s and 80s. Back then Mike’s work could be found gracing the inside of zines, flyers for conventions and most notably, on t-shirts Mike would screen print himself, at home.

Mike and his art comes from a period in sci fi fandom before the ease of digital technology and the internet. Back when it was all done by hand, and exchanged via mail-order or at sporadically held conventions. The fandom of this period was personal, DIY and punk as fuck. We love it.

And today? Well me discovered Mike and his work when he was selling some screen printed t-shirts at a pop-culture collectibles fair in Hurstville, NSW; in Australia earlier this year. We instantly fell in love with both Mike and his work.

Sadly, Mike has pretty much no online presence – He’s 64 and doesn’t have a computer or smart phone. BUT when we met up a second time a while back, he gave us lots of binders of his work and said we can scan em up and post em online to share with the world!

Now… You may be wondering how you can get in touch with Mike or order his work after seeing the images below. And… Well… The short answer is you can’t.

Mike is a face to face person for the time being. BUT we here at Art Whore are planing to do what we can to bring Mike’s art to the masses. So stay tuned for developments. AND as always, if you really must know more. RIGHT NOW. Just get in touch via email: contactartwhore@gmail.com

And finally? Highlights of some of Mike’s art – from two portfolios he self published in 1986 – below…

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