Congratulations on your selection as a Finalist in our WOPP exhibition at the SHAC.
We would love to know more about the significance of your title, The other side of nothingness: fear and trembling and what it means to you.
The first part of this title, The other side of nothingness, I originally thought of as the title for some writing I began some time ago, influenced by the Portuguese author, Fernando Pessoa and his book, The Book of Disquiet. This book is considered by some as a seminal work of European modernist writing. The work has a secondary title, A Factless Autobiography, where Pessoa adopted the mask of the book’s subject, Bernardo Soares, who presents a series of ‘random impressions’ each numbered from beginning to end. It is also a loose reference to Jean-Paul Sartre’s, Being and Nothingness, and what I understand as the precepts of Existenzphilosophie, or what is better known as Existentialism. The second part of the title, Fear and Trembling, has a biblical reference where in an early Christian text Paul urges the Christian community in Philippi to ‘work out your salvation with fear and trembling…’, but the greater reference is the 19th century Danish writer, Søren Kierkegaard, who examined the whole meaning of faith, in his book titled, Fear and Trembling, as applied to his experience in 19th century Denmark. Personally, I have no religious belief, but I take from these various sources ideas that I find pertinent to considering who we are and how we navigate our way through contemporary life and that we are best to consider ourselves in the here and now and our fear and trembling, anxiety and anguish, is something we create on this side of nothingness.
Your current studio is located in the grounds of a beautiful farm near Albion Park, NSW. Please tell us more about the flora and landscape of your studio surroundings and what elements if any, are reflected in your current work.
I am fortunate to reside at Callemondah, the family farm of the late sculptor, May Barrie, whose daughter and artist, Tori de Mestre is also in the Works on Paper Prize. Once a dairy farm, the location looks out to Shellharbour in the east, and the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, whilst bounded on the west by the looming escarpment, that presents and dramatic and ever-changing backdrop. Callemondah itself has an inspiring garden, which was developed over many years by May and her family. It is surrounded by the remnant coastal bushland with a great variety of vegetation including flame trees, various gums and eucalypts, cedar trees, tree ferns and smaller native shrubs. There are creeks and waterfalls and the ubiquitous weeds that remind one of the colonial impacts on the landscape. My current interest is in painting with a local feature, Marshall Mount, looking to the east, as my focus. I have completed around forty paintings of the Mount to date.
What important lessons have stood out to you in collaborating and working artistically with one of Sydney's most well-regarded regional art galleries?
The thing I was always inspired by in my years working for regional galleries is the commitment of the people who staff them and how they value the art but more importantly the artists. It is also remarkable how many will develop exhibitions and programs that are challenging as art and as critical comments on social, artistic, and political aspects of contemporary experience. My lasting lessons are always be professional in all aspects of one’s work and be prepared to respond to questions from audiences who for the most part are simply trying to understand and appreciate the art presented.
How has your career evolved over the years? From being a radical art activist to an Educator in a respected institution to now as a full-time artist and extraordinary cook?
Career is a term I have a somewhat ambivalent response to as the visual arts do not necessarily have any clear career path as might be the case in other professions. Like many of my generation, I began my working life as a schoolteacher but eventually thought it best for the children of NSW if I pursued my long-standing interest in the visual arts. I also developed an interest in philosophy and attained a bachelor degree before I attended art school. Before and during my art school studies I developed a very critical approach to art in general and particularly contemporary art. Like others so disposed I began an exploration of working with politically explicit art and community projects, employing art to provide access to art skills to those who may see a value in their use. I worked mostly in western Sydney, producing, billboards, murals, and comic books with various communities. I conducted a training scheme for community art trainees and I was also involved with the Artworkers Union for a time which advocated for artist’s rights. Later I took up administrative roles initially for the artist-run group Redback Graphix and then local government arts officer positions working for several local government councils, including at Campbeltown Art Gallery. Eventually, I became a coordinator of an art centre in Sydney before beginning in my last position at Hazelhurst Arts Centre. During my time there I developed art learning programs and curated or co-curated several exhibitions. I hesitate to call myself an artist in any professional sense but now in retirement, I can play at making artworks, a desire I harboured since childhood, and cooking to the best of my ability delicious food.
What artists or art movements would you say have influenced your art?
One art ‘movement’ that inspired me greatly was the Constructivists of early 20th-century Russia. Prior to the political impact of the Stalinist era, I thought that the inventive, committed approach to artistic revolution in Constructivist works was to be admired and celebrated. Nobody has such utopian visions today, and quite sensibly I dare say, but that moment in art history shone like a bright light of hope to me. I was also impressed with conceptual art as I did a mental progression through art movements that led me to that point of no return, where art practice just looked compromised and inept as a tool for social change or even aesthetic critique. I looked to socially engaged art practice and artists who I considered had a position in art practice that was critical and convincing.
How has your inspiration changed in your practice over time?
I remain sceptical of contemporary art practice and the institutional framework that art is conceived and received in, nevertheless, I still engage with art practices of all sorts as a viewer and retired practitioner. I continue to be inspired by the sheer gall of artists and their commitment to make work that can be very challenging. I have completed a Masters in Art History during my working life and that shifted my focus to understanding the immense scholarship required to understand the art of the past which I may have glibly thought I had knowledge of. Hopefully, now I am more considered and appreciate the complexities of the passage art has taken historically.
Where can people see more of your works in 2025?
Callemondah has a gallery and exhibitions at various times, including this year in April or visit by appointment. Check out Callemondah Studios on Instagram and plan your visit.