I stumbled across Australian artist Dan McPharlin a few years ago on the site http://www.sci-fi-o-rama.com/ and was intrigued by the juxtaposition in his work. Displaying themes of man-made vs nature, structured and unstructured, natural vs unnatural, and ridged vs supple, his art goes beyond mere sci-fi gimmicks. He operates quite successfully across multiple approaches including minimalism, miniatures, photography, and even music.
McPharlin’s artwork has appeared on album covers for bands such as Pretty Lights, Prefuse 73, Gatekeeper, and Dylan Ettinger. His work has been featured in magazines such as Wired, Esquire, and The New York Times.
In addition to the geometrical minimalism as highlighted in Chapter 18 above, he has created some wonderful miniatures of synths and analog equipment, original LEGO creations, and other models. You can find more examples of his amazing work at https://www.flickr.com/photos/danmcp and http://danmcpharlin.net/.
To hear an ambient mix that McPharlin created to go along with his work, Transmission 2, go here https://soundcloud.com/cosmonostro/dan-mcpharlin-transmission-2.
Transmission 2 
Storie Incredibili / Contatto col nemico 
Storie Incredibili / Contatto col nemico 
Year One 
Fragment of a Short-lived Dream 
Machine 
2061 
Transmission 1 
Engineer 2010 
Forma 1
Here’s a selection of some of his “Analogue Miniatures.”
For all of the imagery and content he’s published, McPharlin is a pretty reclusive character, and what’s available about him on the internet is pretty sparse. Additionally, any original work beyond 2010 is difficult to find, or non-existent, yet I could find no explanation for his disappearance.
Needless to say, it’s an odd thing for someone who was so productive and present from 2002-2014 to fall off the map (at least the cyber map). Here’s hoping that Dan is ok and gearing up for a return to creating the beautiful things he can create. Until then, we can always continue to appreciate his back catalog.
Desert Planet 