A Life Less Ordinary
By Amber Moriarty
A Life Less Ordinary
“…I screamed at him furiously: “Make life beautiful, make life beautiful!” – Charles Baudelaire
Eric Henshall is an artist, born and raised in Fitzroy, Melbourne. He’s first and foremost a painter, which is what I first came to know him as and how he’s most readily identifiable to the public. But to define him as only a painter is a disservice to the variety of forms in which his artistic and aesthetic sensibilities find expression. I began shooting this book about him as a behind the scenes look at a visual artist working in a different medium to me, as a means of exploring the process of artistic creation and development. But the process involved a transition – working with Eric, spending time with him day-to-day, made me realise that it’s impossible to separate the artistic process from the artist, to separate the work from the life which produces the work. The book has become more of an anthropological study, woven out of the many threads of his everyday life. From making his own unique clothing from patterns as broad as US Civil War jackets and modified Zoot suit trousers; to the way music plays a central role in his life, as a soundtrack to help generate a certain mood or as an extra creative outlet in itself such as practising the accordion; to the evenings he spends with friends attending gallery openings or playing board games; to the extent to which his creative work is grounded in the particularity of a domestic space. There’s also a fascinating dichotomy between the cliché view of the solitary artist and the contrast of his vibrant social life. He works in isolation – his current studio is literally underground – but the dynamic culture in which he’s immersed, the life of the inner city streets swirling above him, the constant inspiration of a community of peers, allows him access to the best of both worlds. His paintings depict everyday scenes, his friends, family, interactions, street scenes. The current series is of a three-month period he spent in a small Southern US town called Clarksdale.
Preparing for studio work. His work garb is more modern than his street clothes – paint-spattered rustred skinny jeans and a stripy pullover. In winter, fingerless gloves and a Russian fur hat complete the ensemble.
Eric smokes roll-your-own cigarettes, though never in the morning. It accompanies the second percolator of coffee of the day, a ritualistic break between his more casual mornings and his afternoons of studio work.
His current studio is the basement of his mother’s house. It’s a temporary situation, adopted after returning from living in Paris for a year.
He’s 6’4” and the basement is so tiny he had to dig out the bricks under his work space just to be able to stand up. Though the space worked for his Paris series as he didn’t need much room, the current series based on his trip to the Southern US town Clarksdale is a messier process, impeded by lack of space.
His palette is a plank of wood, covered in layers of dried paint. He used to work in oils, and now works in acrylics. They dry faster but he misses the feel of oils.
Eric’s brushstrokes are deft, swift, precise. He works quickly but efficiently, often on a few canvas’ at once - switching between them as one section dries, or another section needs revising.
At the end of a session in the studio, Eric seems to have been painting himself and his clothes as much as his canvas. Though there is paint everywhere, the space is clean, the only debris is work related essentials - cloths for cleaning brushes, tubes of paint, an ashtray.
Previous page: The checkout line at a US chain supermarket - Save-A-Lot.
Opposite: Lady In Red, a Southern US bar scene.
Next page: Friends of Eric’s father dancing in
Red’s Lounge, an old fashioned Clarksdale juke joint.
Erics farewell’s his mother after a long studio session. Though the scene appears somewhat Dostoyevskian, Eric and his family have a close rapport.
There’s a delightful incongruity to a man as eclectically attired as Eric donning a modern helmet and cycling through a suburban scene.
Most weekends are spent socializing – dinners and gallery exhibitions are frequent events, while most Sunday afternoons are reserved for board games and D&D sessions with a group of long-term friends.
This weekend’s session is Risk:Legacy. It’s fast, fun, and Eric emerges the unwilling victor - the pleasure seems more in the strategy than the outcome.
Eric makes most of his street clothes from scratch, on a custom built mannequin made to his measurements. He’s currently working on a blue wool US Civil War replica jacket with contrasting red trim with a pattern of elephants, bought on a recent trip to Thailand.
Fleshing out the Renaissance Man paradigm, music is another of Eric’s interests.
“ I play accordion because I love the
sound of it! And the oh-so-European associations and also because you can play it alone - I used to dabble in bass guitar but was too shy to join a band. I’ve been mucking around with the accordion for years now. Maybe six? Seven? But not very structured and whenever I travel I obviously don’t practise then.
”
Eric balances more solitary pursuits with a vibrant social life. His sister is also a friend and they share a number of mutual acquaintances.
Eric’s sartorial style sets him apart even more obviously in crowds. Though not an extroverted personality, his unique style stands out in a sea of jeans, t-shirts and hoodies at a gallery exhibition opening at the Backwoods Gallery in Collingwood for friend and fellow artist Stefano Ives.
As the evening wraps up, and though I’ve barely scratched the surface of the many facets of his life, I take my leave of Eric’s fascinating, engaging world.
I’d like to thank Eric, for being amenable to being shadowed for so long, and his family and friends, for letting me into their lives and homes and allowing me to crash their social engagements. I am indebted to Nick London for everything, Paul Jeffery for the puns and chocolate cake and Tessa Eagle for her invaluable editing contribution. Rob Gale and Jessie DiBlasi for the opportunity and guidance to do such an intense and engaging project that pushed me both personally and technically and hopefully made me stronger for it! Jacqueline DiBlasi for her generous time and templates.
Printed by CPL Digital in 2015 117 Thistlethwaite Street, South Melbourne, VIC 3205 Copyright © Amber Moriarty 2015 All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission from the creator. Amber Moriarty is a current student at RMIT. Her interests in photography range from food to fine art, landscape to documentary. She is equally drawn to the problem-solving dynamics of studio work as well as to the raw nature of documentary. www.ambermoriarty.com This book has been produced as part of a joint project between the Diploma of Photo Imaging and the Associate Degree in Professional Writing and Editing at RMIT. This cross-disciplinary collaboration involved establishing professional relationships between editors and photograph ers, with editors assisting photographers in varied ways to support the presentation of their photographic narratives in book form. “The collaborative experience for the Photo Imaging students gave them insight into both the methodology and approach taken by writers and editors. This complemented and refined the learning that was taking place within the construction and development of their narrative projects – a real-world experience.” – Jessie DiBlasi, Robert Gale (Photo Imaging teachers) “Working not only collaboratively but across disciplines provided complex challenges for the editing students involved. Creativity, flexibility and patience proved crucial. In responding to, and supporting, each photographer’s vision, the editors deepened their knowledge and understanding of the publishing process and diverse editorial roles.” – Stephanie Holt (Advanced Manuscript Editing teacher) “These exciting and stylish publications are the result of highly successful collaboration between students from the School of Media and Communication. The project mirrors contemporary industry practice, demonstrating the strength of RMIT’s vocational education in the creative art s.” – Clare Renner (Deputy Dean, Vocational Education)