CHANCES are, you haven’t heard of Steampunk, but you’ll know it when you see it. It’s one of those things that’s harder to explain than it is to demonstrate.

In short, it’s imagining a future world as Victorians would have seen it.

Think HG Wells’ The Time Machine, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein or anything by Jules Verne – an alternate reality, with Victorian manners firmly intact, featuring lots of brass, mechanical steampowered inventions.

Even James Richardson- Brown, widely considered to be the father of British Steampunk, doesn’t have a snappy definition, and says that Steampunks themselves often ask him to define it.

But as he says, once people see Steampunk in action, they usually “get” it.

That was the theory behind two of his creations, versions of Doctor Who dog K-9: K- 1889 and K-1909.

“The easiest way to bring someone into your world is to give them something they understand,” says James, from Southampton.

“K-9 is very recognisable so when you show people a steam punk K-9 they get it.”

Steampunk is everything from an underground fashion trend – lots of brown, brass and gold, oversized watches and Victorian-looking modern gadgets – to a way of life.

It includes fiction, art and music. It can be seen in films such as Wild Wild West, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and the recent Sherlock Holmes movie.

One of the cornerstones is creating gadgets that look as if Victorians might have invented them.

This could be everything from the huge mechanical spider featured in Wild Wild West to James’s more modest creations, which include a functioning DVD drive and a horrific-looking doctor’s glove, which features different medical apparatus on each digit.

The term Steampunk was coined in the late 1980s by science-fiction author K W Jester, to describe his brand of fiction, which was set in an alternative Victorian era.

However, its roots are much earlier, reaching from actual Victorian science-fiction writers into the 20th century – elements can be seen in the 1954 Disney movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and 1960s TV series The Wild Wild West.

Now it is a fast-growing subculture.

There are two British Steampunk conventions, with The Asylum in September expected to attract more than 1,000 visitors.

But what is its appeal?

James, who has a passion for Victorian England – including a seemingly encyclopaedic knowledge of it – and a love of science, had been into Steampunk himself before he even realised there was a term for it.

“I think Victorianism will always have a pull,” he says.

“But one of the problems with the Victorian era is that it does have its less salubrious side: there was crippling poverty, illness was horrendous and education was terrible.

“There was a lot of beauty and art but life was a lot worse for a lot of people. People love dressing up in Victorian clothes but don’t want the nasty side of Victorian England. This gives you a chance to change that.

Another great part of the steampunk sub genre is that it has latched on to a lot of feminist ideas. Women might say ‘I like aspects of Victorian England but not the idea of losing the vote or being second to my husband’.

Steampunk gives them the chance to say ‘what if.’”

While James loves all aspects of Steampunk, and is particularly interested in the scientific side, for others it is the look that is appealing.

Photographer Andi Gordon includes Steampunk images in his collection of work.

“I’ve got a massive love of the Victorian period,” says the Southampton photographer.

“I love the massive ball gowns and things like that.

The overall look of Steampunk is very period looking but also mechanical.

“It’s becoming very popular,”

he adds. “A lot of things at the moment that have a fantasy feel have an element of Steampunk in them.”

James agrees.

“I have a friend who is a film producer for a major studio and he says that every other script he’s been getting this year is billed as “it’s ‘X’ but steampunk.”

And James’s own work has been receiving high profile recognition.

As well as being one of a handful of big names in steampunk, credited as being one of the key figures in introducing steampunk to the UK, James has enjoyed mainstream success.

His creations are currently on show at the British Library and Kew Bridge Steam Museum and have been shown at the Oxford University History of Science Museum. Not that he is making a career as a Steampunk artist – his day job is in IT.

“I don’t take fees from museums,” he explains.

“I wouldn’t want to take money from anyone who’s trying to educate people. The good thing about Steampunk is it inspires people to look into science, history and the history of science. It also fires people’s imaginations.

“Another good thing about Steampunk, unlike other sub cultures, is that it’s very accessible. In the beginning, we deliberately set out to make it very open.

“When we have a show, I love the reactions of the general public. You see kids reacting to it and it suddenly makes science fun to them and that’s great.”

With the growing popularity of Steampunk it probably won’t be long before it’s as recognisable as goth or metal.

In fact, some would say that it’s already stepped out of the shadows of being a specialist interest.

“You can see steampunk in films, on the catwalks in Paris, in books from mainstream publishers and in fashion spreads in magazines,” says James.

“The moment I realised we’d definitely hit the mainstream was when Claire’s Accessories did a series of steampunk jewellery!”

Visit James’ website at sydeiancreations.com and Andi Gordon’s photography site at darkromantics.co.uk.