“I paint, I do performance, I make installation, I do costume and theatre design. I paint on metal now with oils, really fine glazes, older work is on wood but newer work is on metal, all recycled, repurposed materials. I show at The Channon Gallery and I had an exhibition last year at the Regional Gallery which was a 5 year project retracing my families migration to Australia.
What type of performance do you do? “It’s a little bit ritualistic, it’s a little bit magic, it can involve durational and endurance body work. It’s often site specific because I like to work with a space and a place rather than walking into a black box theatre or an empty white gallery. Most recently I did a piece with Brandon Cassidy with a show called Exhibit 52 in Byron. It’s a really hard one actually because it doesn’t fit in a box. When you have questionaires with multiple choice I’m the one that always has to tick the box that says ‘other’ which is usually followed by ‘please explain’.
I collect found objects, materials, sometimes bits of roadkill. I make things from them. I might have something laying around for years like these big wings I have hanging in my space that move, were a couple of pieces of old boat wreck that were washed up on the beach when I used to live near the national park south of Sydney and they lay on my verandah for years till they told me that were wings, which is why I have a huge pallet load of stuff in my studio. It’s materials with the potential to turn into art.
I lived in Europe for nine years, I studied in Poland. I came back here in the early 90’s, did a big community art project over 9 months working with the regional gallery and communities through the district making site specific sculptures all around the mountain surrounding Wollumbin using the things that are found on site with the people who live there.
I’ve lived in the district now for 5 years but I first came here in the early 70’s and as soon as I came to the Northern Rivers I knew it’s where I would come home to. I just had a few other things I needed to do first and now I’ve come home.”