Aden Hynes is a polystyrene sculptor and has had a company for over 30 years that creates works of all kinds, including for entertainment. He has created sculptures for many illustrious brands from the Harry Potter saga to Nintendo, from Michelin to Ford, from Iron Maiden to Pink Floyd.
FC: Your company has been working in the art world for 30 years: film, TV, theatre, etc. Did you ever think that one day one of your clients would be Pink Floyd, one of the best rock bands that ever existed?
AY: The real question is, did they ever think that one day they would be working with me! It’s always a privilege to work with established, artists, musicians and business. More than the celebrity status, the real reward is seeing the work still appreciated so many years later.
FC: If I understand correctly, you created the statues of The Division Bell, the ones on the back of the album cover. I think it’s an honor for you since it was a record that sold a lot and the cover became iconic, a symbol.
AY: What starts off as simply a concept, is nice to see become something that is recognised globally. It’s great to be a part of that journey and history of the band.
FC: You also created the bust of Syd Barrett for the High Hopes video. But now I’ll ask you a personal question. Do you like Pink Floyd’s music?
AY: I enjoy Pink Floyd music, as it’s something I’ve grown up with. We played Pink Floyd in the studio whilst we were working on their projects, as it just felt right! If they ever brought out a reggae album, that would tick all of the boxes for me (laughs).
FC: You recently made a replica of the airship for the Their Mortal Remains exhibition. I imagine that from 1994 until today you have met Storm Thorgerson or Aubrey Powell from Hipgnosis studio. Do you have any particular anecdotes to tell?
AY: I met Storm several times over the years. The first meeting was in London, in regards to creating the stone and metal heads for the Division Bell album covers, whereby myself and another artist were presented with two envelopes containing each project for us to blindly choose from. I remember Storm having such a presence on set, that even the smallest mention of fancying chocolate, you could then hear the word “chocolate” buzzing around the headphones of the crew, for someone to immediately taxi out to the nearest petrol garage and pick up a huge selection for him to choose from. His reputation proceeded him, and he always got what he wanted, but he always treated me remarkably well. He came down to visit me in my studio later in his life, whilst he was particularly ill, and despite being in a wheelchair, he was still working, and still made the trip down! Which I respected. I was sad to hear of his passing in 2013.
FC: Do you have any other future projects with Pink Floyd or other rock bands?
AY: We’ve done a lot of work with Iron Maiden over the last couple of decades, whereby we’ve created giant world tour theatre stage props, usually depicting their mascot, Eddie the Head. These have always have always been enjoyable project, and like Floyd, we love bands that really want to put on a show for their fans.
Among other things, Aden created, just for personal whim, the metal heads of The Division Bell and I recommend you visit the Sculpture Studios website and take a look at their YouTube channel where there are some fantastic videos.
Interview by Francesco Madonia. Translation edited by Matteo Gherardi.
Questo lavoro è concesso in licenza con CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
