At Home with: Alex Seton

WHERE DO YOU CALL HOME?

AS/ I’ve lived and worked in Newtown since 2002 - I adore this little nook of the world. It has changed a lot in that time but has retained a sense of local community.

DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A COLLECTOR?

AS/ Yes. While I’ve had the benefit of artist swaps, I tend not to be able to help myself when I walk into an exhibition and see something that leaps out at me! Only recently, I realised that I have more than 200 works… there’s still plenty more room left on the ceiling though!

Alex Seton Proposal For a Humble Monument, 2020 Molong marble 120 x 86 x 77 cm Photography credit: Mark Pokorny Wynne Prize finalist

WHAT ARE YOU COOKING FOR DINNER TONIGHT?

AS/ Salmon yellow curry with coriander, cashews and sesame wrapped with soft tortilla tacos, stuffed with wild coconut rice and mango salsa. With more coriander. I really enjoy cooking, and weirdly, this meal has been one of my more successful experiments!

WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING/READING/LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?

AS/ Dancing with Strangers written by Inga Clendinnen tells of the first night of the first fleet when Europeans and Indigenous Australians danced together. Kim Mahood’s Position Unknown is another recent read. I’m really into Australian writers who speak to our various different relationships with the land.

I’ve been listening to Sofi Tukker’s album Treehouse and I can’t get Paténipat by Charlotte Adigéry out of my head - both high energy and great to carve to!

DO YOU HAVE A MARBLE BATHROOM?

AS/ Nope - all wood and tile! I recommend marble only for artworks.

DO YOU HAVE A GREEN THUMB?

AS/ Yes, I have a splendid urban jungle garden that suffers neglect as shows draw closer. I have five different types of fig, which brings me a stupid amount of pleasure!

Alex Seton Proposal For a Humble Monument, 2020 Molong marble 120 x 86 x 77 cm Photography credit: Mark Pokorny Wynne Prize finalist (detail)