Far from being your usual predictable retro/pin-up artist, Tim Daddio actually reinvents the nostalgic worlds of the fifties. In his illustrations and designs, the 39-year-old Brit brazenly kidnaps well-known archetypes of that period and drags them through the decades until they end up in a rather timeless, sometimes anarchic and always exuberant way. We hooked up with the Bath resident in his Whiltshire studio outside the city and risked a look over his shoulder to the bellowing tunes of Italo Disco. Well, we guess we had it coming.

How did you become an illustrator in the first place?

I was working in hotels up until the age of 24 and desperately wanted a career change. At the same time I was putting on bands in a local club and making my own flyers and posters. I enjoyed making the flyers more than promoting the bands and realised I had a knack for art, even though I dropped it at school long ago. So I applied for a degree in Graphic Design specialising in illustration – and that’s what I studied for the next three years.

How did you become an illustrator in the first place?

I was working in hotels up until the age of 24 and desperately wanted a career change. At the same time I was putting on bands in a local club and making my own flyers and posters. I enjoyed making the flyers more than promoting the bands and realised I had a knack for art, even though I dropped it at school long ago. So I applied for a degree in Graphic Design specialising in illustration – and that’s what I studied for the next three years.

Your inspiration comes from various fields of the fifties: Movies, fashion, Pin-up culture. Why are you so drawn to that decade?

I wear my influences on my sleeve quite literally with what I wear and my artwork is also an extension of those interests. I like showing off the things I’m passionate about. The nuance is I’m particularly drawn to the Eighties-does-Fifties look. I think this comes from having two older sisters who were teenagers in the eighties. They and their various boyfriends made an impression on me.

Is it the fifties in general – or the UK fifties in particular that strike your imagination?

I like things removed from their original source. The English or Italian appropriation of Fifties Americana is probably more interesting to me than what was going on in America at that time. Put that in the context of the Eighties when there was a big Fifties revival and that becomes even more interesting. I’m taking that vibe and making artwork in 2018.

What was so special, so unique back then?

I find awesomeness in every decade of the last century. Stylistically, I have very little passion for anything post 2000. Life is easy though now, we don’t know how good we have it.  I’m not sure I’d be any happier living in another era.

Yet, your work is not retro or nostalgic but in fact quite contemporary…

I think my influences are fairly timeless and there has been a big surge in popularity in the kind of images I produce. I’ve noticed this shift even in the last ten years. Everything relies on culture being recycled now, there is very little room to do anything that hasn’t been done before.

Is Zeitgeist important to you?

I’m not so sure it is. I’ve never attached any meaning or intention to my work in an attempt to capture old imagery in a modern context. It just kinda happens.

Do you want your works to be a social or cultural commentary of your time? Or do you rather want them to be timeless?

Neither. I’m happy that when I die i would have created a lot of images to the best of my ability that will outlive me and that I believe was a valuable use of my time. As I mentioned, my work holds no significance or meaning, it’s purely stuff I find cool. I also avoid calling myself an artist as art requires a meaning. It’s primarily why I studied Illustration as illustration doesn’t have to have any merit apart from fulfilling a function, looking pretty, and hopefully making some money. [laughs]

You live and work in Bath. Is it a good city to be an artist in?

It’s fairly snooty and cliquey.  A hard city to be successful as an artist unless your art ticks certain boxes that please it’s residences. I have exploited the uniqueness and beauty of the place for certain pieces and my aim was always to subvert it’s chocolate-box image and make it appear more seedy and interesting than it is. I spend more time in London than in Bath anyway.

Find out more: www.instagram.com/tim_daddio