Raw Ink Magazine – May 2013 by Raw Ink Magazine

MAGAZINE

.COM

ISSUE 20, MAY 2013 BRISBANE | GOLD COAST | TWEED COAST

---------------------------------------------------------------------------THE RAW INK TEAM

ROXY COPPEN

Graphic designer and editor roxy@rawinkmagazine.com www.roxycoppen.com

RUTH DUNN

Journalist ruth@rawinkmagazine.com

LIANA TURNER

Journalist and photographer liana@rawinkmagazine.com www.liana-anitra.tumblr.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------THIS MONTH’S CONTRIBUTORS

GEORGIA RHODES Journalist georgiahodes91@gmail.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------------COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY

CLAIRE SEWELL sea.sewell@hotmail.com www.facebook.com/ pages/Sea-Sewell-DesignPhotography/210857195724653

---------------------------------------------------------------------------FACEBOOK www.facebook.com/rawinkmagazine

Hello Readers, We’re very excited to present to you our 20th edition! That’s right, Raw Ink has out grown it’s teens! So with this edition, we have given our cover and website a fresh new look. Once again, we’re excited to present to you some new and exciting stories that we’ve been working on this month. We hope you enjoy! If you know of any creative events happening in your local area, or would like to contribute to the magazine, feel free to send us an email to: roxy@rawinkmagazine.com Don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on our Twitter-tweets. We’ll see you next month.

TWITTER www.twitter.com/rawinkmagazine

From,

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The Raw Ink Team xx

CONTENTS 4

‘Chit Chat Corner with Phillip Blunt’ Ruth Dunn

‘A Monster Movie Line Up at GoMA Ruth Dunn

‘Abbe May’ Liana Turner

‘IDENTITY: Trelise Cooper’ Georgia Rhodes

‘Chit Chat Corner with Peter Mclean’ Ruth Dunn

Chit Chat C

Corner with Phillip Blunt Ruth dunn

Phillip Blunt is a Brisbane based artist working in an illustrative and street inspired style to create artworks featuring unique characters and vibrant designs. I caught up with Phil to chat about his background, recent projects and the development of his characters. TELL ME A BIT ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND. HOW DID YOU FIRST BECOME INTERESTED IN ART? Well my dad was always drawing so when I was a little kid, about 20-25 years ago, I used to watch him drawing. I just remember picking up a pencil and trying to copy him and that sort of thing. He drew most of the way through my time at primary school and high school, and then he didn’t draw as much after that. I’ve never known what I wanted to do career wise…but art was always something I did. SO IT STARTED AS A HOBBY YOU DID HERE AND THERE? Not even that, I didn’t think of it as anything, it was just something I did. I didn’t show many people. When I was at school I mainly drew during class. Even when I finished high school I went to Tafe and did illustration and I just mucked around, I didn’t really see it as a career. HOW HAS THIS INTEREST IN ART DEVELOPED SINCE THAT TIME? YOU ARE MORE SERIOUS ABOUT IT NOW THAN BACK THEN… Yeah, I’m a lot more serious about it now. 12 years ago when I met my wife I had to get a job so I could earn money, and I don’t drive so I had to take public transport. I don’t like sitting and doing nothing, so I always carried a sketchbook and I was drawing mainly tattoo style stuff. I guess Facebook is really the reason it has gotten anywhere, and also deviantART. I was on deviantART for 3-4 years… 5

CAN YOU EXPLAIN TO OUR READERS WHAT DEVIANTART IS? It’s basically a community base. I didn’t have any artistic friends or anyone I could show my drawings to and get critique. So I found out about deviantART and started uploading artwork to that and began meeting people through comments and things like that. You get pushed into, or form into, a community of little artists and start drawing styles and pushing yourself into contests and competitions. So that gave me an extra reason to draw, and as I said Facebook started getting big with pages, so suddenly you could share with people you actually knew instead of people who were overseas that you had never met before. SO THIS GAVE YOU MORE MOTIVATION TO GET YOUR ARTWORK OUT THERE… Yeah, being able to share my artwork was great and people started being interested in purchasing works. I gave a lot of art away too – some of the things I used to give away at first were things I call ‘Lucky Stars’. I would draw a star with a bit of script around it, kind of like a tattoo style, and I would write a name on it. I used to do it for people when they had a child, and they would put it on the door to their kid’s room, and people seemed to really like those. YOU HAVE SOME INTERESTING LITTLE CHARACTERS. HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH THESE? That can be a little strange. I don’t know… It’s usually just when I sit down and scribble in my sketch book and start playing around. Sometimes when I look at a piece of paper I just see a shape, like a circle– so I’ll draw a circle, then I’ll draw another circle, then I might draw a swirl and a curve, and I start getting an image out of it. Other times I’ll think of a creature or an animal and work with that. As I said I have an illustrative background, so that plays a big part too. Everything that I’ve got now was never the first drawing that I did, it’s always a process of elimination and trying to get it to look how I want it to look. LATELY YOU’VE BEEN DRAWING VIKINGS AND WHAT YOU CALL ‘DEATH BUGS’, CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THEIR CREATION? The Death Bugs started with…I think it was a fly I did on a piece of cardboard. I drew a skull first and then I gave it a round body and put some wings on top. I put it up on the Free Art wall, and someone took it the first day I put it up. So then I did a different bug with the same head and it got quite popular and I got some really positive feedback from it. So I kept doing them. The Viking heads started when I wanted to do an ambigram–two images in one. That started with my squid-Viking-squid. I enjoyed drawing octopuses, and my octopus designs evolved into an ambigram. I made a Viking face with the horns on the helmet as the tentacles. So you look at it one way and it’s an octopus, flip it and it’s a Viking head. I don’t remember the first one I did, but I’m pretty sure it would have been pretty bad hahaha. That artwork was pretty popular when I put it up on the Free Art wall too. People love when they flip it and realise it is actually two images in one, and you can do so much with them, so I kept doing them. YOUR ARTWORKS SOMETIMES HAVE A LITTLE SENTENCE IN THEM. ARE THESE QUOTES OR SENTENCES YOU MAKE UP YOURSELF? I make them up. A character is fine, and people can look at a character and see something, but when you write something they can relate to it. So for example ‘Having a good day’ sarcastically written, people will look at that and think ‘you know what, I am having a crap day, I’ll put that next to my computer’, or look 8

at it and maybe it will make them smile, you know. So I guess it’s reaching out with more than just a visual aspect and giving someone a message. YOU RECENTLY TOOK PART IN A ROUND OF SCRIBBLE SLAM. HOW WAS THAT EXPERIENCE? I was really nervous when I got there, my opponent hadn’t arrived yet so I was up there on my own at the beginning. It was really good fun though, the start of it was really laid back and relaxed, it was like live painting that I have done a few times before, and you just get in the zone of what you are doing. The hardest part was the topic, we got the topic just as we started–that’s how Scribble Slam works. The topic was Mexican…and we actually got told the topic in Spanish. So the judges came over and told us the topic in Spanish and we just looked at each other, looked at the judges, and they then explained that the topic was ‘death and rebirth’. It was kind of like the Day of the Dead where they go and celebrate the death and the rebirth of their souls…and that still didn’t help much haha. Apart from the Death Bugs, everything I do is pretty light hearted and comical…so I struggled a little bit. I had a bit of fun and basically came up with a taco that died and came back as a burger, and I couldn’t think of anything else on the spot! The worst part is when I woke up the next morning, I had all these ideas of what I could have done. ANOTHER PROJECT YOU HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN IS ‘FREE ART FRIDAY’. CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THIS PROJECT AND YOUR INVOLVEMENT? Last year Barek brought it up with me, and that was when I first met Cherie Strong as well. Barek told us about My Dog Sighs over in the UK who leaves work on the side of the street that he hand paints every Friday–that’s why he called it ‘Free Art Friday’. He’d been doing that for a few years and had given away a fairly large amount of free art. I had done a heap of artwork prior to this where I hadn’t really been selling it; I was just giving it away. So Barek, Cherie and I collected together and ended up offering artworks out as free art and we dropped a few of them on the street and things like that. I have a lot of fun doing it and it’s really nice to give and have other people appreciate something that you really enjoy doing. I’ve just kept doing it, Barek and Cherie are still involved too, and a few others have picked up on it. As far as I know, Brisbane was the first city in Australia to start doing Free Art Friday, and now Sydney, Melbourne and Newcastle are doing it too. A few in America picked it up from us, for example now there is ‘Free Art Friday’ in Wisconsin. It’s a great way to get your art out there and get some feedback, and everyone enjoys it. WHAT IS INSPIRING YOU AT THE MOMENT? I have to say Facebook is a great way to get on there and see the world– there is just so many artists on there that are popping up everyday. A year and half to two years ago, I got a free Jon Burgerman print from a magazine, and I remember thinking it was a cool and simple idea, and that inspired me to get my artwork out there a bit. Jon is a UK artist who draws really cool little characters and he was the reason I started prints, to the point where I’d draw something and do a ten print run and give them away to people who wanted them. I still look at his work and get inspired by it–he uses a lot of colours and creates vibrant characters. He’s been an inspiration to me for two years, and I also find inspiration in street art and stickers. I’ll look out the window on the train or walk down the street and see street art that catches my eye and it inspires me to create a new character, or work on a design that might incorporate little elements from what I see. There are plenty of Brisbane and world artists that are inspiring.

WHAT’S NEXT ON THE AGENDA? I have no idea. I don’t have any long term plans art-wise, projects just seem to pop up. One thing I am locked in for is a female form group exhibition in July…when I first signed up for this exhibition I hadn’t done a lot of realism and human form, so it was a little bit out of my comfort zone. But since I signed up, 5 months ago, I’ve been practicing a bit and I’m feeling a lot more comfortable. I like to open doors, have a crack and see how I go. There’s always something around the corner, never a dull moment, just gonna keep doing what I’m doing and have some fun.

To see more of Phil’s work head on over to www.facebook.com/phillip.s.blunt and keep an eye out on Free Art Friday www.facebook.com/FreeArtFridayBrisbane?fref=ts Want to wear a Phil design? He recently designed a t-shirt for Devillain, keep an eye out on the www.facebook.com/devillainclothing for its release!

WIN an original

Phillip BlunT To enter:

ARTWORK!

1. Create your own original character, creature or critter (drawn or painted). 2. Upload your creature to the Raw Ink Magazine Facebook page 3. Sit pretty and stay tuned for the winner announcements in our July issue!

Cut off date for all entries is June 11.

1st PLACE

Phillip Blunt artwork

2nd & 3rd PLACE

Phillip Blunt sticker pack

Let the creating begin! www.facebook.com/rawinkmagazine 15

Production still from Frankenstein 1931 / Director: James Whale / Image courtesy: Universal Pictures 16

A Monster Movie Line Up at GoMA RUTH DUNN Brush your fangs, polish your claws andGallery tighten yourArtbolts because the of Modern (GoMA) is currently celebrating monsters with a cinema program packed full of monster movies from the early 1920’s up until present day.

GoMA is presenting classics, rarities and cult favourites in six thematic strands – Blood Thirsty Fiends; Zombies, Mutants And Shape-Shifters; Misunderstood Monsters; Mad Doctors; Foreign Entities; and Monstrous Absurdities. Amanda Slack-Smith, assistant curator for Queensland Art Gallery/Gallery of Modern Art’s (QAGOMA) Australian Cinémathèque, let us in on her favourite strand: “My favourite strand is possibly Mad Doctors. Social anxieties surrounding

unchecked scientific advancement played out in the news today, from stem cell research to genetically modified foods, and these issues offer wonderfully complex themes for filmmakers. In these films is also often not the creation that is monstrous but the creator.” The program, ‘Monsters’, includes almost 60 films tracing the most fertile periods of monster filmmaking: from the popular Universal Studios films of the 1930s and 1940s, the reinvigoration of these stories by Hammer Films in the 1950s, the drive-in creature features of the 1950s and 1960s, and subsequent revivals of the monster genre. This age-old fascination with monsters is more than just entertainment. Vampires, werewolves, zombies, mad doctors and creatures from other worlds have graced

our screens and fascinated us since the beginning of cinema. Amanda Slack-Smith says that monster films explore the social anxieties of the time in the guise of popular entertainment.

“When you watch these films its fascinating to realise that our anxieties surrounding social taboos and primal fears such as otherness, disease, psychosis, and death, haven’t really changed despite our easy access to information and healthcare.“ 17

An example of how these films offer commentary on social anxieties is Nosferatu 1922, F W Murnau’s German adaptation of Bram Stokers novel Dracula (the kind of vampire that does not sparkle in the sunlight). Nosferatu was a metaphor surrounding the aftermath anxieties from the First World War. This can be seen when Renfield, a main character in the film, reads an article that says a new plague has spread across Eastern Europe and that ‘it attacks only the young and vigorous’ with the two small bite marks on the victim’s neck baffling scientists. Other examples of social anxieties are the fears surrounding the ‘other’. Amanda SlackSmith explains: “Post World War 2 travel to other countries became much easier and affordable, people were leaving war torn countries for the West bring with them different cultures, foods and customs. In the anti-communist, atomic era of the 1950s and 60s this manifested in films about aliens and concerns of retribution from atomic testing. Them! 1954 for example looks at the concerns of what environmental damage the atomic testing wrought on the desert when giant irradiated ants start attacking the public. It’s a theme we see re-appearing in Tremors 1990 thirty-six years later.” As well as giving the audience a chance to explore the deeper themes in these movies, ‘Monsters’ also offers an opportunity to rediscover some of the genre’s most popular films on the big screen.

‘Monsters’ is on at GoMA’s cinemas until June 2, 2013. For more information on movie times and tickets go to www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/ cinematheque/current/monsters

Production still from Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror 1922 / Director: FW Murnau / Image courtesy: Transit Films

Production still from Hellraiser 1987 / Director: Clive Barker / Image courtesy: Roadshow Films

Production still from Night of the Living Dead 1968 / Director: George A Romero / Image courtesy: Park Circus 19

SPECIAL CODE WORD

‘RAWINK’

TO RECIEVE A DISCOUNTED TICKET! 20

ARTWORK SPECIFICATIONS

DEADLINE 14 JULY 2013

Please read this information carefully. • Trim size: 6 inch (w) x 9 inch (h)/15 cm (w) x 23 cm (h)—add 5mm bleed if required • Artwork specs: Black & White artwork only. • Style: Crisp, clean typographic vectors will print best, but some B&W tone is allowed in your typography submissions. We are looking for all forms of the written word: calligraphy, typography, type design, hand-drawn type, hand-lettered type, beautiful handwriting and so on. • Resolution: 300 DPI • Format: TIFF, EPS or PDF

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR WORK Save two copies of the files you wish to submit: 1. A high resolution file for printing (as specified above) saved as an EPS, TIFF or PDF. 2. A low resolution copy for emailing, saved as a 72 DPI PNG or JPG.

Any submissions that do not follow these guidelines will not be considered.

Please make sure your low res file is no bigger than 1Mb per image. EMAIL YOUR LOW RES IMAGES TO: BOOK@TYPISM.COM.AU Please Include your full name and blog/folio/website address in your email. DO NOT email the high res files. UPLOAD YOUR HIGH RES FILES USING TYPISM.WETRANSFER.COM Please Include your full name in the WeTransfer Message section. We will email you by 31 July if your submission has been successful.

LIANA TURNER WITH

ABBE MAY If ‘pop’ is a dirty word, Abbe May’s new album is a mud-wrestling champion. Kiss My Apocalypse, released on may 10, is a breathtaking scenario of rock-chickmeets-pop. It’s been described as ‘unashamedly sexual’, but May insists that’s precisely the point. “I’m a strong believer that sex is not a shameful thing,” says May. If you’ve been expecting a refreshed version of her new work, don’t be too disappointed. The guitars have been pushed to the side to make way for the beautiful beast that is this record. “Design Desire was very guitardriven,” says May, “Very heavy.” Kiss My Apocalypse sways a bit towards the psychedelic side of things, favouring suave, spacious vocals over rock and roll guitar riffs. “It’s like the vocals took over while the guitars were passed out after a festivals,” says May. Untroubled by any criticism of the minimal guitars in this record, May says plain old rock and roll was getting a bit stale. Don’t be mistaken: some of her favourite riffs are by the likes of the Rolling stones. For May, this album is more about a new, exhilarating path as her journey through the music world continues.

With the limitless nature of modern music technology, May explains its’ important for people to try something a bit different. “It’s like when the electric guitar was first released. There’s really no excuse not to experiment,” says May. “It’s exciting for me. It’s kind of like painting; if you paint the same thing over and over – once you start to replicate- it becomes boring. For me, I lose interest very quickly. So I have to be making something new.” Upon adopting a more “poppy” sound, some might say May is selling out. To this, she would most likely respond with a few profanities. “Some people think if you’re being accessible you’re selling out,” says May. “The whole idea of art is enlightening, entertaining and enriching people through entertainment. So if more people are listening to it, the more value you’re getting. “Some people still hold the outdated view that if you’re not punk, if you’re not rock, your art has less value. Pop’s a dirty word, people think it’s shit. But if it enriches your life, it’s art.” Kiss My Apocalypse marks the beginning of a strong collaborative relationship with Sam Ford. “The most exciting thing for me is that it’s just the beginning of our collaborations together,” says May, “It’s the first time we’ve

collaborated 100% on a record. We have a lot of respect for each other. There’s no competition, no ego. Our ideas blend together well.” If she’s going to play favourites, May would have to pick two particular songs from the album. “’Kiss My Apocalypse’ is one of my favourite songs,” she says, “It’s kind of a way of saying ‘fuck you’.” But it’s not all a overly-tough-rock-chic deep down; May’s also quite attached to ‘Tantric Romantic’, a song about having fallen in love earlier this year. “It was the first love song I wrote that wasn’t negative,” says May. May is going heading out on the road in June, and is excited to share her new album with live audience. “I like to make sure my band is happy,” she says, “I like to know that people have a good experience. I just want them to enjoy it and connect with it.”

ABBE MAY – KISS MY APOCALYPSE TOUR SATURDAY 1st JUNE: PRINCE OF WALES, BUNBURY, WA SUNDAY 2nd JUNE: STATE OF THE ART, PERTH CONCERT HALL, PERTH, WA THURSDAY 13th JUNE: EATONS HILL HOTEL, BRISBANE, QLD FRIDAY 14th JUNE: OXFORD ART FACTORY, SYDNEY, NSW SATURDAY 15th JUNE: THE GOV, ADELAIDE, SA FRIDAY 21st JUNE: DING DONG LOUNGE, MELBOURNE, VIC SATURDAY 22nd JUNE: REPUBLIC BAR, HOBART, TAS 24

IDE NTI TY:

TRELISE COOPER

Georgia Rhodes

A few weekends ago, Brisbane’s Treasury Hotel and Casino hosted ‘IDENTITY’, an event now in its fifth year, in the impressive courtyard situated in the middle of the hotel. The event was to showcase the Autumn/ Winter collection of one of Australasia’s most respected designers, New Zealander Trelise Cooper. Cooper has been designing the label under its current moniker since 1997, after taking a break from fashion when her son was born.

The Trelise Cooper brand comprises four different labels, including a diffusion range and a line devoted to office and business wear. Cooper herself has been described as an “unconventional force behind New Zealand’s most successful fashion empires”, and with stockists in 14 countries, from David Jones here in Brisbane to flagship stores in the Middle East and boutiques in Europe and America, it’s not difficult to see why. Amid the striking open-air setting, waiters flitted between mingling crowds of fashion lovers and Brisbane-based fashion industry movers and shakers, as well as the minor celebrity of some My Kitchen Rules contestants, offering fancy canapés of salmon, veal and vegetable tempura (with the best wasabi aioli I will probably ever experience). Complimentary flutes of champagne and chardonnay were flowing and the assembled crowd’s excitement to get a glimpse of Cooper’s new designs was growing. Then, the heavens opened. It always seems to rain whenever I attend any type of fashion event, but the team at the Treasury handled it well. Umbrellas were offered and guests were ushered inside, where the canapés and booze followed. Exasperation emanated from the event’s organizers who were visibly cursing themselves for choosing a location so open to the elements. All was not lost, though, once the rain subsided, we were ushered back outside to take our seats for the show. The event’s host, Damien Antony Rossi of the Sunday Mail, took to the runway to introduce the designer before the show kicked off with COOP, a more youth-focused diffusion line of the brand, accompanied by an insanely good remix of ‘Blue Jeans’ by Lana Del Rey (I’m actually still trying to find it, it really was that good). Dark florals on juxtaposing floaty sheer and stiffer, more structural fabrics set the tone for the rest of the print-focused collection. Eyeball print skinny trousers and vivid pink wallpaper prints, featured on a coordinating trouser suit were among the highlights of this part of the show. The models wore all-black creepers for the first looks, indicating a strong inspiration from the street style favourite of the moment. Woollen coats with contrasting leather or PVC sleeves took their cue from designers like Burberry and New York’s Alexander Wang to great effect. Next up from COOP was a selection of girly-as-hell dresses in gold brocade and embellished with sequins. Backless detail, padded shoulders and sheer sleeves, as well as some clever use of neon, elevated these dresses from the norm and stopped them looking anything like generic.

Applause for the first part of the show was quickly replaced by impressed gasps when models bedecked in the Trelise Cooper mainline collection emerged from behind the curtains. The inspiration for the Trelise Cooper range is clearly steeped in Victoriana, with Cooper proclaiming herself that she is often inspired by “the details and handicraft of historical clothing”. Metallic gold jackets with bejewelled collars made a dramatic statement, worn with lace veils and sheer, dark floral prints. One of my favourite pieces from the Trelise Cooper line was a semi-sheer shirt dress, maxi length, covered in images of the Virgin Mary. This could have been a more toned-down, much more wearable, reference to Dolce & Gabbana’s recent religion-inspired collection. Sheer lace came next, looking a lot like a selection of night-wear, as a continuation, perhaps, of the ‘underwear-as-outerwear’ trend that has been ever-present in various guises in the major fashion weeks for the past few seasons. A slight oriental influence came across too, in cherry blossom-style prints adorning dresses and coats in striking gold and hot pink. The Victoriana inspiration was never far away though, with fluted sleeves, trims in brocade and lace, tiered dresses, a dress evocative of historical nurse uniforms and a kind of peasant-Goth hybrid lace smock. After the show was over and the audience’s applause subsided, the designer took part in a Q&A session, discussing her beginnings as a designer – apparently she used to go to bed hugging shoes as a little girl – and explaining the ethos behind the Trelise Cooper label. She described the Trelise Cooper woman as strong, empowered by womanhood and unafraid. These are definitely not clothes for the shrinking violets among us. “I want to make women look and feel good”, she said simply. With these clothes, I think it would be difficult not to achieve that. The pieces on the whole are extremely wearable, and constructed in a way as to be flattering to almost everyone. Some of the garments (embellished sheer lace, anyone?) may be a little bit out there, but what’s fashion without a little fantasy? Despite the rain threatening to dampen the spirits of the attendees, the event was a great success. IDENTITY is held several times throughout the year, with different themes and guests, and the next event will be held in July at the Treasury Hotel and Casino. I would recommend the event to any one who wants to experience some of the glamour of fashion, as long as you can handle watching other people air-kiss each other for extended periods of time. 27

PHOTOGRAPHY BY Genevieve Walker F L I C K R : w w w. f l i c k r. c o m / p h o t o s / g e n e v i e ve _ a l t h e a FA C E B O O K PA G E : w w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m / G e n e v i e v e W a l k e r P h o t o g r a p h y 33

THE LIVI

CHIT CHAT CO

PETER M -

R U T H

ING ROCK IN RUINS 2013 DRYPOINT

ORNER - WITH -

MCLEAN D U N N

PETER MCLEAN IS AN ARTIST AND PRINTMAKER WITH BOTH A TRADITIONAL AND INNOVATIVE PRACTICE AND A CONNECTION TO THE WONDERS OF NATURE. I HAD A CHAT TO PETER ABOUT HIS INTEREST IN ECOLOGY, THE CREATION OF HIS ARTWORK AND HIS INSPIRATIONS. TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOURSELF. HOW DID YOU GO FROM STUDYING ECOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND TO BECOMING A PROFESSIONAL ARTIST? I had an early interest in both, but biology won out as the ‘sensible’ career choice, and so that was where my studies led. Biology, and particularly forest ecology, gave me the chance to spend time working outdoors, investigating and understanding particular natural places. I think for most ecologists, it is the field work that they love the most. While I worked in science after uni, it was mostly lab work with agricultural plants and it didn’t have the connection to natural places that I really wanted. In the meantime I was still making prints and creative papermaking as a hobby. When life’s twists and turns led me to move to a country town for a while, I gave up on working in science and my commitment to art stepped up another level. Eventually I ended up in Canberra, which gave me the opportunity to study at the ANU School of Art and so make the transition to art-making as a serious profession. WHY DID YOU CHOOSE PRINT MAKING AND DRAWING AS YOUR MEDIUM? I have always been attracted to printmaking in particular. There is something fascinating to me about the ability to make multiples, using very low-tech methods that are essentially entirely manual: learning to manipulate materials and processes in the service of creating sophisticated images. My drawing practice is also often about materials, making use of such things as soil, charcoal and powdered bone amongst other things. YOU MENTIONED IN ANOTHER INTERVIEW THAT WOOD ENGRAVING IS ONE OF YOUR FAVOURITE TECHNIQUES TO WORK WITH. WHY IS THAT? A whole set of factors combine to make wood engraving attractive to me. The wood itself plays a big part. Wood engraving utilizes wood with particular qualities, but I am able to find suitable wood out in the environment around me, and use it in a way that retains the natural shape of the branch or trunk. The final work is not just about my image, it is a collaboration between me and the natural material. Wood engravings also tend to be quite small and able to be printed by hand without a press or much equipment–so I am able to work with the method almost anywhere. I like the fine detail that is possible with wood engraving, and the challenges of manipulating the tools and materials to try and mimic the levels of skill shown in the engravings of 19th century book illustrations that used this method. CAN YOU GIVE OUR READERS SOME INSIGHT INTO THE PROCESS BEHIND YOUR ARTWORKS? Much of my work begins with walking. Mostly, though not always, in areas that would be considered more ‘natural’, like National Parks. Walking, being, observing and thinking. The longer I can be in a place, especially alone, the better equipped I become to move from simply illustrating the things I have seen, to developing a visual representation of a sort of essence or spirit of the place. It becomes about my particular interaction and way or 40

being in that place, rather than just the place itself. The set of prints and drawings that I made on a residency in California in 2011 were particularly successful in this regard. With a two month time span to be in this new and stimulating environment, I attempted to assimilate all of the varied things that I saw, both natural and cultural. I couldn’t possibly attempt to show it all in an illustrative way, and so the images became pared back and more like signs and symbols. To do that sort of thing I need to be able to give up some of my own control and allow the place to provide more direct inputs, and that’s where materials can come into it. In this case I made a lot of use of relief prints taken from found materials, like leaves and bark, pieces of wood, feathers. They came together into images that I find to be powerful symbols of the place and culture and my time there. IT SEEMS LIKE YOUR WAY OF WORKING IS QUITE FLEXIBLE AND THAT DIRECT EXPERIENCE HAS A LOT TO DO WITH IT… Yes, different projects lead in different directions, and I don’t restrict myself to particular mediums or ways of working. Some images are made quite directly in relationship to a particular place, and made at least partly ‘on site’, for instance I have recently been using plastic sheet for drypoint plates. They are light and easy to carry, and are worked directly in with an etching needle, so I can make the drawing on the plate while I am outdoors, observing the subject. In other cases I make sketches in the field, and also take photographs and these can be referred to in the studio. For instance in another current project I am making large monotypes. These oneoff images are made by applying dark printer’s ink onto a smooth surface, and then using cloths etc to remove the white areas of the image, before transferring the image to paper in a press. This necessitates making the images in an access studio, very much away from the places that inspired the work, and so these images are being developed from drawings and photographs. The place becomes metaphorical in the final images, rather than descriptive, but in my process they are still very much developed from particular experiences in particular places. YOUR WORK SHOWS THAT YOU STILL HAVE A STRONG INTEREST IN NATURE AND ECOLOGY. CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW THIS INTEREST INTERACTS WITH YOUR ART MAKING? I mentioned that for me the ideal of working in ecology was the notion of working outdoors within the environment, and seeking to gain a better understanding of how it functions. These are still the things I am interested in and I can do that through my art practice. Instead of collecting data, I am collecting images and subjective experiences. What art can do that science can’t, is seek to explain not only nature or environment, but also my relationship with it. Sometimes my art making is quite investigative and formalised, in a way that refers back to my science training–the artist book projects in particular. I have made a number of books now in which I have taken an organic structure, sliced through it to make flat sections and used these as a surface to take relief prints from, which when prepared correctly can capture an incredible amount of detail. I first used pieces of found wood, but then refined the process to use animal bones and woody seed cases like Banksia cones. Each section becomes a page in the

book, and so the whole three dimensional structure is represented by this sequence of abstract images. It’s rather like medical scanning or something, but like all of my work, decidedly low tech in approach. It is another example of how I seek to collaborate with my materials, rather than to simply use them. EXPLORATION AND INTERACTING DIRECTLY WITH NATURE IS OBVIOUSLY A BIG PART OF YOUR PRACTICE. AS AN ARTIST, WHERE ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE PLACES TO EXPLORE AND WHY? Exploration is essential. In fact I usually can’t settle down to do much work until I have spent at least a couple of days exploring first, feeling my way around and getting an idea of how the place works, what it’s common and particular features may be. My favourite places tend to be in the mountains, somewhere with some water and creeks, plenty of rocks. Rocks are important, they are like characters in the landscape, and they give it particularity and structure. My favourite places are usually pretty quiet as far as other people are concerned. I guess while I like that feeling of being in the middle of some great wilderness (even though that is usually an illusion) when it comes down to it what I actually work with when I sit down to draw, or carve a wood engraving, or whatever, is some detail within that landscape, some feature that creates a feeling of specialness. You could say a sacred feeling. Enclosed places within the expansive landscape are of particular interest to me at the moment. Caves and rock overhangs, canyons and gorges. Even the dark shadow under a boulder seems to be ripe with symbolic possibilities. Of course waterfalls and swimming holes are always welcome in the summer! I started exploring in Conondale National Park a lot last summer, and plan on returning over the next few months to do more work there, so I guess that’s the favourite place of the moment. YOUR INTEREST IN EXPLORING AND INTERACTING WITH NATURE THROUGH YOUR ART REMINDS ME OF JOHN WOLSELEY. IS HE AN INSPIRATION FOR YOU? Oh yes certainly. Wolsley’s work comes from a basis of direct engagement and also combines an artistic sensibility with close observation, like that of a naturalist. He seeks to encompass the whole of a place, but without missing the intricacy and wonder of individual parts. WHAT ELSE INSPIRES YOU? Traditional techniques and dedication to a sense of craft and materials is always inspiring. All the old master printmakers, like Durer or Rembrandt or Thomas Bewick are a constant source of fascination, but also contemporary artists using materials in an interesting way like Chris Drury, Anselm Keifer or Hossein Valamanesh to name a few. CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE WORKSHOP YOU WILL BE RUNNING IN BRISBANE THIS MONTH? I will be giving students a two day intensive introduction to wood engraving at the Brisbane Institute of Art studios in Windsor and will be suitable for either beginners or those with some prior printmaking experience. There is more information online at http://brisart.org/ index.php/art-classes/cart-53/printmaking/printmakingshort-courses. AT THE MOMENT YOU ALSO HAVE SOME WORK FOR SALE IN FORTITUDE VALLEY’S IN.CUBE8ER. TELL ME 44

ABOUT THESE PIECESI have a range of work at in.cube8r, mostly smaller pieces in more affordable price ranges. They have quite a few of my wood engravings, both framed and unframed. In addition I have made a new set of work especially for the in.cube8r store. I wanted to have something that was fun to make and a little less serious, something that could be fairly cheep and suitable as a gift, but still well made with nice materials. For years now I have been keeping all the proofs and test prints that I make from engravings, and the book projects printed from bones and plant material etc. I am using these to make small collages, with nice Japanese papers pasted over small canvases. They are quite abstract, but with fine materials, and a natural and quiet aesthetic. UPCOMING SHOWSI have an artist book in the Libris Book Awards on at the moment at Mackay Artspace (May 10 – June 30), and some other group shows in the Canberra area in August (Broad, ANU Foyer Gallery and Making the Cut, The Left Hand Gallery, Braidwood). My next solo show will be In The Wilderness at the Glen Innes Gallery (in the NSW northern tablelands) in late September. ---------------------------- - - - - - - To keep up with Peter’s latest projects and view more of his work head to www.petemclean.wordpress.com If you would like to purchase your own Peter McLean artwork visit in.cube8er at 368 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley or browse their website www.incube8r.com.au/artist/peter-mclean