At home: Joanna Lamb

ABOVE: Joanna Lamb in her home, Applecross, WA, 2021 Photo: Joanna Lamb

WHERE DO YOU CALL HOME? DESCRIBE THE LANDSCAPE AROUND YOU.

Joanna Lamb (JL)/ Home is in the suburb of Applecross, 8km from Perth. My house is an early 60s north-facing house on a corner block. The house is slightly elevated with conveniently situated windows from which to observe the comings and goings of neighbours and passers-by on the street. A voyeur’s delight! The streets are tree-lined with large jacarandas that draw busloads of tourists in spring when they flower. The suburb itself follows the southern curve of the Swan River heading toward the port of Fremantle. It is a very picturesque suburb. I am very lucky to live here.

DO YOU HAVE ANY STRICT HOME RITUALS?

JL/ Not really, and it’s probably my downfall. I’m very self-motivated and try to make the most of my time. I like to run about three times a week in the early morning. I run down to the river, along a path near the water. Winter is best, when it’s dark and no one can see my running style! It’s very quiet, the cold helps keep my heart rate down and it’s almost meditative.

Each morning, I get the kids organised and off to school. A coffee is essential before I start work and while I check e-mails. Then I head out the front door a few steps and I’m at the studio. It’s not a long commute! My studio is in a purpose-built garage with a vaulted ceiling and a north-facing window overlooking the garden. School hours are my work hours and I try to not let anything intrude on this time.

WHAT DO YOU DO IF YOU’RE SUFFERING FROM ‘ARTIST BLOCK’?

JL/ Really, what happens is that I make bad art. I find the best way to overcome it is to keep working. Artist block can be a good thing. It usually comes before a change in direction, or when I’m working through a new idea or process, developing a different way of doing things.

WHAT IS YOUR MOST TREASURED POSSESSION AND WHY?

JL/ It’s very hard to narrow it down to one thing. For a start, every artwork I own is a treasured possession. One of the very first artworks I bought was a small ink drawing by Peter Booth of three figures tussling in the landscape. At the time, I was an art student and it was a huge investment. I’m talking hundreds of dollars, not thousands. I probably couldn’t afford to go out for weeks afterwards, but I have never once had buyer’s remorse.

Over time, I seem to have unintentionally collected works which fall into the broad themes of either landscape or colour abstraction, mainly 2D works, either paintings or photographs.

Then there’s my Brompton Folding Bike. Such a beautifully designed thing. I first came across Brompton bikes in Singapore when I was there for an exhibition. They are the perfect size to store in small apartments and studios.

WHAT DOES YOUR HOME SAY ABOUT YOU?

JL/ I have used my home as a canvas to practice wall paintings, before exhibiting them in bigger gallery spaces. I also have artworks of mine (interspersed with the work of others) which would represent the changes I have made to my practice over a period of twenty-five years. My home is a slowly changing canvas.

Exhibition: One Long Moment, November 18 - December 21, 2021

View from Joanna Lamb studio featuring her painting Table Tennis, 2014. Photo: Joanna Lamb

Joanna Lamb studio featuring her painting Flatland Figure 14b, 2007, and Mary Tonkin Fallen Logs Werribee Gorge, 2001. Photo: Joanna Lamb