An interview with Kent Wilson

Words by Jason Waterhouse

Artist, writer, curator and good mate, Kent Wilson's exhibition 'not dissimilar' is opening at Stockroom on the 8th June 2013.  

We had a chat about all things Kent.   

Kent Wilson, 'pollinate'

JW  - So in this interview I'm going to get straight to the point;  Kent Wilson you’re driving me nuts.  You have a show that opens in two weeks and you’re still making work, in fact you’re not even close to being finished (and I know this show is not your only yesterday deadline).  I can’t even begin to understand how you work like this.  It’s a polar opposite to how I operate. Can you please enlighten me as to how you’re not hemorrhaging with stress?

KW - Well, there's two aspects to this really. Firstly, I'm really just a very standard example of an emerging artist in contemporary Australia. In order to be an artist I juggle a variety of other part-time jobs and activities. All of these compete for my attention and keep me barely alive below the poverty line. But I simply cannot live without making art - it's a fundamental and insatiable need, not a choice. And I feel privileged and grateful to have the good fortune to be able to do what I do, so I'm generally of a positive and happy disposition. Even when I have 16 deadlines due in the one month.

Secondly, I am actually way more stressed than you would know from my calm demeanour. But some stress is a natural component of life and I don't like to hemorrhage it, as you say, because everyone else has their own stresses too and if I bleed my stress out into the atmosphere then that just infects the environment with additional negative vibes, soaking other people in my own issues.  I'm very aware that I'm really only a nodal point of interconnected relationships. The best I can do is manage the inflow and outflow of information, conjuring objects from materials at hand with as much deliberation as can be afforded at any given moment of the day. If there are good ideas driving the work, the art will make itself using you as an instrument.

Kent wanted to use this web sourced image of Rapunzel using a tool. I'm not sure why.

I should also point out that there are a few elements to this show: one is actually completed, one has commenced (and is looking killer!) and one is all planned out but not yet begun. And then there are periphery considerations of further works that may or may not make it in. None of this will make you any more relaxed about it. Such is the joy you signed on for as a gallery director, Jason. 

Next.

JW - Ok, I’m not convinced, but as always with you Kent I need to give the benefit of the doubt and trust that so far (against all probability) you have pulled each project off.  You’re clearly a genius, or a pure ass engineer, I will let the public decide.  

So tell the good public what to expect from this show that only partly exists, which opens on Thursday 6th June in TWO WEEKS time.

KW - Your caps lock, shift uppercase expression of the timeframe clearly reveals your own stress. Which in turn, makes me a little more stressed. You’re bleeding on me and now I'm stained.

Haha! This IS fun.

Also, thank you for the viscerally toned nomination of ass engineer. I notice that if I'm not a wanker, then I'm a skilled proctological craftsman. Either way, they are semi-viable Freudian references for the working machinations of an artist. Only semi-viable mind you.

And you're totally right allowing an audience to decide about the work. An artist can imbue an artwork with as much meaning as they like, but in the end the viewer decides the meaning. Always. Until anyone actually looks at art it is alway only ever partially complete.

Maybe I should just answer your damn question huh? In this show you will see the trace material elements of my thoughts on human beings grappling with their relationship to nature and nature's 'products'. In my estimation, humans are naked apes who pull stuff out of the ground, rip bits off of trees and concoct assemblages of these materials as extensions of their physical selves to interact with the world. Somehow we've become deluded into thinking these materials are separate from us and the world too is separate from us. But the cars we drive run on liquidised sunshine stored in ancient forest below the ground and computers function on bits of sand and melted rocks. Our instruments are us, and they are also the world itself. They are tools which we sometimes use as weapons and sometimes use for ceremony. In this show you'll see material expressions of these ideas.

Kent Wilson - work in progress

JW - The exploration of the balance between our living within, and pilfering of the planet we live on is a poignant and broad concept for an artist to explore.  And its a question not to be taken lightly, serious subject, in which its seriously hard to stay neutral (or at least leave the viewer to make their own mind).  As you know, I cant stand preachy art, and in this I am not alone.

So tell me about the title, 'not dissimilar'.  You’re not just making the same old hippy greenie shit I hope.

KW - That's really important to me actually. I don't like to make preachy art. I much prefer to be ambiguous and allow the viewer some freedom to determine their own meaning. If they want to. They can also just enjoy the shapes, the colours, the materials. That's fine too. I like art that is captivating visually, or sensorially, and if you're into it you also have an opportunity to find meanings and concepts lurking around like shadows.

But, you know, we do pilfer the planet. That's what we are. It's how we do it that often requires considered assessment. We will always reconfigure materials to suit certain ends. I do it in my art. Sometimes in my work I quite consciously choose plywood or pine plantation woods bought from large chain store, big box consumer churches of capitalism to reference our machinic approach to harvesting natural resources. We can't hate on ourselves, we can only adapt, evolve and make better choices.

The show is called not dissimilar because it reflects my approach to art making in general. It's not cool, or intellectually acceptable, to say that art is a metaphor. Some people think that's too easy a way to describe art. That's true, to a degree, but art IS a metaphor ... to a degree. All language is a code that attempts to translate an idea so that someone else can understand that idea. Art is a language too. A code of materials designed to translate ideas. The language (whether words or things) is the metaphor. These words you're reading aren't my ideas, they are symbols I punch on this keyboard in letters of a, t, e, r and so on. But when you read them, you reconstitute them into sounds and then you conjure the concepts into meaning in your head. Hopefully those concepts mirror the ideas I have in my head as closely as possible. Art is just another set of symbols.

The term not dissimilar is curious to me. If you think of an object, or an idea, you could say that on one end of a spectrum you have things that are similar to it. Down the other end of the spectrum you have things that are dissimilar (not similar) to it. But then there is a zone of things that are not the same, but also not not the same. These things are not dissimilar. It's a quirk of language, a double negative, but it lives in an ambiguous zone of relation. In this show there are a selection of artworks that I hope live in that ambiguous zone of relation. Both to each other, and also to the things they reference.

Kent Wilson - flag detail

So for example, I have had some flags made. They're made exactly the same way as national flags are made - by a company who specialises in making them, using the same dimensions, the same style and the same colours. There's four flags and they look for all intents and purposes as flags of African or Caribbean countries (this was unintended, but welcomed). They are not the same as national flags, but they're also ... not dissimilar. I'm also making some sculptures that look like javelins or spears. The same principle applies with them. But also, the javelins are not dissimilar to the flags. This is where it gets interesting to me. The way artworks begin to have relations with each other. Everything is networked.

JW - Over coffee at Stockroom I have had some very passionate debates over the concept of originality. In black and white terms, I sit it the cynical (surprise, surprise) there is no purely original idea camp. Does this mean your pitching a tent next door to me?  No Greys in this answer Mr Wilson.

KW - Well, sorry Jason, I'm afraid I'm camping elsewhere. There are original ideas, to my reckoning. They're very few and very far between though. And I certainly don't claim to be a creator of them ... yet. At best, I'm assembling contemporary ideas and materials into new configurations. But I'd have to say people like Duchamp, Picasso and Cage were originators. You could get all Platonic and say they tapped into universal ideas that already existed and get the credit for bringing them to the broader public. Still, they moved tectonic plates, culturally speaking.

JW - Yeah they did.  Near on 100 years ago.  In this day and age of world wide connection, I question if a truly unique and original idea is possible.  Sure we can adapt existing stuff into a unique state, but its all derivative.  

Hang on, I think were saying the same thing, your cups just more full than mine.

Ok, so taking a few steps back. 16 deadlines. I know you well but here’s a question for the wider public.  What are these other hats you ware that make the balance between your art and wider existence so tenuous, and people, the big reveal - Kent was a corporate jock in a previous life. How did you get from there to here?

JW - Yes, it's true. Out of school I did a commerce degree and then went into retail. At 24 I was flying to Perth and Sydney to train people twice my age in how to conduct good customer service. I had no idea about art. I studied economics and marketing and strategic management. I'd never done art in my life, not even at primary school. But while I was a corporate desk monkey I was playing in a band, making short films, designing graphics for fun, teaching myself how to use software to make animations and filling dozens of notebooks with ideas and drawings. I assumed I missed the boat with creative stuff and I'd have to accept it was just a hobby to pursue. After a few years I found I was being creative all night - often until 3 or 4am - and then dragging my reluctant arse to work in the morning. The longer this went on, the more miserable I became. It became obvious that I was compelled to be creative so I needed to give myself over to it or risk dying with regrets and having a heart attack way before my time. So I applied to art school and here we are.

I do lots of other things besides my own art. Some of them I do to pay the rent, like proofreading high school textbooks and online resources. Some of them help pay the rent as a happy side-benefit but they primarily serve to advance my art, like teaching, writing and curating. Only recently have the last two activities resulted in any revenue outcomes. I really love teaching and find that to be a great companion to art making. I feel obliged to engage with teaching because it took me so long to figure out what I wanted to do. I'd like to have a hand in helping anyone interested in art to fulfill their passion for it. I had some amazing teachers at art school and some pretty lame ones. The ones who were passionate, knowledgeable, energetic and generous have armed me very well to do what I do. I've seen dozens of wide-eyed students be unmotivated and unstimulated by shit teachers and shit systemic issues and it's a waste of talent and energy. The more people curious about the world and creatively engaged with it, the better for all of us. Being around that inspires and motivates me to work my arse off. 

I consider all the creative outputs I do - teaching, writing, dancing, walking, sound, curating - to be parts of the intricately woven fabric of my work.

Kent Wilson - work in progess

JW - I could go into rants about the state of Arts education, but for the sake of the public I won’t. There’s only so much of our ideas the people can cope with in one read Kent. Just be a firecracker teacher and make sure those young minds question every thing you and everyone else tells them.

As a emerging artist near on a couple of decades senior to most of your recently graduating peers you must have reasonably clear ideas and motivations for pursuing art beyond just a compulsion. What do you see as the roll of the visual arts in contemporary society?

KW – At the moment I see it as rather sadly under appreciated. At Monash I teach students about visual language and the sort of areas we cover include car culture, architectural influence on urban design, the psychology of geography, the power of advertising imagery, gender representation and a whole swathe of issues that are critically important to understanding our place in the world. Visual art provides an incredibly valuable way to analyse and interpret the world around us. It incorporates an awareness of how things are made, how objects relate to each to other, how behaviours influence others and how power structures work.

I had a fairly high-end education where I was schooled at the finest grammar schools in Australia and at a prestige international-standard university. I came out of that without ever having contact with the ideas and skill sets I’ve been exposed to in visual art. Art should be a fundamental aspect of early education. The biggest misunderstanding here is that art is for artists, and that artists are those people who know how to draw realistically. That’s patently wrong. Some of the most artistic people I know are CPAs, motor mechanics and inventory controllers. But they don’t even know that they think like artists. My contention is that if they were exposed to the ideas inherent in visual language and art early in their education, they would be even better armed to do what they do and do it well.

Art transcends all cultural structures. It exists in tribal communities, in capitalist societies and in socialist utopian communes. It is inherently a driving inner urge and finds outlets in film, in advertising, in cars, in tabletops, in shoes, in cooking, in politics and potentially any form of human activity. From that point of view, we should have a better understanding of it. It can be used for both good and evil and knowing how, why and to whom this is done is critically important.

Kent Wilson, 'cell'

Kent Wilson's 'not dissimilar' exhibition launch is on the 8th June at 4.30pm and runs until the 7th July 2013.

May Exhibition ::: painting / sculpture / floor work / wall work

Curated by Renee Cosgrave

Renee Cosgrave
Merryn Lloyd
Fiona Morgan
Johanna Nordin
Nick Ryrie
Caleb Shea
Esther Stewart



stockroom May exhibition ::: painting / sculpture / floor work / wall work from stockroom on Vimeo.

Apologies and Congratulations to Caleb Shea (who had a baby this week), who's work does not feature in the video.  We promise we will upload lots of photos.

::: and here they are :::

Exhibition runs from 11 May - 02 June 2013

Stockroom Photo Diary ::: The Big Picture

It just came to our notice that our photo and Video diarys of the Stockroom space always focus on the details; The little picture. Here's the big picture.

 

 

Rhett D' Costa 'Shimmering Spaces: Exhibition 2' ::: Fran Van Riemsdyk 'Daily'

::: 13 April to 05 May 2013 :::




Stockroom is excited and honoured to the present the work of two highly regarded Australian artists who produce art imbued with ideas and presented with a captivating visual clarity.
Rhett D’Costa employs a range of strategies including humour and irony in his investigation into issues of authenticity and belonging. Part of an ambitious and richly researched body of work, a series of four projects is presented that explore the nuances of cultural identity. The inclusion of photography, sculpture and video provides for a visually captivating meditation on his research. Rhett reflects a heritage of understanding our place in the present through an understanding of the presence of heritage in our place.
From the loops of place to the loops of time, Fran van Riemsdyk plays with the predicable and linear sequence of time and invites the viewer to play along too. Allowing for a random interplay of behaviour, object and idea creates unforeseen connections across moments of daily life. Fran has worked fragments of time into rolling representations, illuminating both the systematic nature of time itself and its malleability.
The music you hear is by Kyneton based experimental music duo, "Mount Macedon", who played live at the opening.

Here are some photos from the event.

 Rhett D'Costa and Fran Van Riemsdyk's exhibitions run until the 5th May 2013

How to avoid a shit sequel

and other observations with the wonderful Rhett D'Costa

Words by Jason Waterhouse

JW - I have been asked by customers about your invite;  'whats with the image of the dude in the suit with the sparkly cane?'  So I ask of you Rhett, what is going on with the dude in the suit with the sparkly cane?

RD - The 'dude' in the fabulous suit is me. I had a suit made using three ubiquitous English fabrics. The suit represents me as the quintessential English gentleman. This  is a photographic work which draws formally on Casper David Friedrich’s Painting, The Wanderer Above the Mists. in this work, a nineteenth century gentleman stands precariously on a rocky precipice, in a classic Ruckenfigur composition, walking stick in hand, looking out into an uncertain, metaphysical fog, perhaps asking us to reflect on the disillusionment of a materialistic society.

Caspar David Friedrich, The Wanderer Above the Mists

Borrowing the pose from this painting, the protagonist in Elsewhere stands on assured footings – a man-made rock wall, shimmering stick in hand, one foot on a model globe looking out into a sharply focused landscape. The wanderer becomes the Conqueror, staking his claim over the land.
I suppose in this work,  I am playing with identity, power and privilege and continued impacts of Colonialism.

Rhett D'Costa,detail from the performance at "Trade and Eat! My son"

JW - "Shimmering Spaces: Exhibition 2"  is part of a series of three exhibition's.  The first instalment was at the Castlemaine State festival, titled "Eat! my Son".  This exhibition was a deeply autobiographical, performative work which involved your Mum.  Exploring personal identity, the exhibition incorporated a large element of audience participation which proved very popular, with 100's participating in the main performance.   "Shimmering Spaces: Exhibition 2" at Stockroom is the well anticipated sequel.  The exhibition is a series of photographs, video and a kinetic work that explore the notion of cultural identity.  It is unusual to do a series of three linked exhibitions in a close time frame.  How do you maintain the links between each exhibition;  do the viewers need to see each show in turn to get the full picture?  And most importantly, are you concerned that, as cinematic history suggests, part 2 is the best (think Mad Max 2, Terminator 2, Alien 2) and part 3 is well... Part 3.  How are you going to avoid exhibition 3 being shit like Mad Max 3, Beyond Thunderdome?

RD -  When I decided on three exhibitions i really wanted to test all the projects to date. I have been working on all of these projects simultaneously for a couple of years and each of them were/are at different stages of completion and resolution. The three shows are not meant to be sequential. There are ideas and forms which cross over between the works. If the public gets to see all three shows great!! I hope their experience is richer for their effort. I am not sure how the individual projects will stand up in shows 2 and 3. As I have said I am really 'testing' this. I have been so immersed in the research with each project, that resolution was almost at the back of my mind.  I suppose that is the 'risk' I am taking with shows 2 and 3. How will each of the works sit next to each other in space. I'm excited and nervous about seeing what it will look like. When i did the catalogue for the three shows i deliberately refer to almost all the images in it as 'PHD photo archive'. They are not meant to be at resolution.

Trade and Eat! My Son was a little easier I guess coz it was really one work in two parts. I enjoyed Eat! My Son very much. We served about 200 meals. It was great. I really didn't know how it was going to go down. But on a very personal level it was great sharing that with everyone who came and especially my mum. She was and still is on such a high about it. I guess that was what I wanted, to shift the deeply political undertone in Trade to a find a buoyancy and optimism in Eat!My Son.
I am really looking forward to installing the show at the Stockroom. That's  what I like about these shows; that each of you have almost given me permission to test my ideas. I hope I don't let you guys down. With each of the projects, when I install them that will be the first time I get to actually see the idea made manifest. That is exciting and of course it makes me a little nervous as there is really no plan B.

Your cinematic references are sharp. I hope part 3 doesn't go astray. I don't think it will simply because I am not following a sequential narrative. And lets face it, the producers were really chasing the money in the references you make to Mad Max, Alien, etc. It became a franchise and it lost all integrity. I hope that is not the case with the show I do at Monash. I think I have left space in the work to keep taking risks. That's important right?

JW - Too true, chasing the dollar can be the death nell for true artistic creativity.  Having worked with you for a while, I have been enjoying watching the "unleashing of Rhett D'Costa".  You have a long exhibition history as a represented artist, where (I assume) you needed to think about the commercial outcomes of your work.  You have come to Stockroom as an unrepresented (unshackled) artist, and we give you free reign to follow any path.  Your last show at Stockroom,  'Here with you"  was very different to what people expected to see.  It was a very camp installation, with a rainbow myriad of silks, golden walls, a gym horse with a motorised turntable mounted with a really crap mass produced statue dipped in gold.  The lush environment you created felt like the stage was set for some sort of crazy happening or stage production. The viewer became part of the act, but where was the main player?

Rhett D'Costa  - Here with you - Stockroom, 2011

 It feels to me like you set the stage, and now for Shimmering Spaces, on Saturday April 24 at 4.30, Rhett - the gay, Indian/Aussie, arty guy with a sparkly cane steps forth from the bush as the main act.  What I am getting at is, the work of Rhett pre 2006 feels to be coming from quite a different place than the personal explorations of Rhett 2013.  Is this the case, or do you see strong links between these two places?

RD - I have always had a good relationship with the galleries who have represented me. They gave me the freedom the do what I needed to do. But you are right, at the back of your mind you know they are a commercial space and selling work is a priority for them. I didn’t really think about it that much as to whether or not the work sold. But was happy for all parties when it did. Who doesn’t want to make money for what they do? As a wise old friend I respect highly once said to me, ‘the money you get when you sell a work is the best money.’ I noted this and I think there is some truth to it.

When the last gallery I was with closed shop I didn’t look for another gallery to represent me but was pleased to have hooked up with the Stockroom team. It is a great feeling to have the trust and support from Stockroom to give stuff a go.

But I should get to the real question you are posing. I was trained as a painter. I made two dimensional work because that was my formal training. I still think like a painter. Except now I suppose I just think beyond the material of paint itself. Materiality is very important to me; using materials as signifiers for content. There are a lot of references to painting in the works I am making presently. I still am deeply interested in painting, in the broadest sense. I haven’t abandoned anything.

Regarding your observations relating to the last show, Here with You, I can see all the references you point out. It was very theatrical and probably bordering on disco/ camp. Of course none of this was intentional. At one point, I couldn’t even see what was going on during the install. It sort of got out of hand. And then …there it was - showtime! Now that I have stepped back I can see it all quite objectively. I seem to remember at the time trying to work stuff out and it was just running its own course!! Like a train I couldn’t stop! I just went with it. I think I would do that show very differently if I did it again. For example, I liked the way the paint for the gold wall dripped and pooled onto the floor following the cracks of the brickwork. I should have pulled everything else out and just left it at that. A dripping gold wall. That would have done. How beautiful.

 I think the most recent research into national cultural identity in the context of my ethnicity is certainly driving the work and the ideas. I think my work as always comes from a very personal space. I guess I am now prioritizing what the content might be, by focusing on my Anglo-Indianness. I think my interest in painting and abstraction is still there. But I am thinking about narrative and representation as well now. How we are represented? Who is representing us and how this is framed? What troupes and strategies are employed and who is authorizing this voice?

 It was never a conscious decision to employ my body as a performative act or through photography. But that is exactly what has happened. There I am slap bang centre stage to use your reference. I am drawing on personal narratives through my experiences of being in the world. Being and coming from different places. I think the ‘feel’ for this show will be very different to the last show at Stockroom. By the way, I don’t think anyone has actually referred to me as ‘the gay, Indian/Aussie, arty guy with a sparkly cane stepping forth from the bush’. But how ‘magically real’ this description is! I couldn’t invent or imagine this, but it is as it is. I think for the upcoming show, one might pick up on these references, but I think the content goes further. I hope it does anyway.  I am looking forward to seeing what happens. I think I physically appear in two of the works, but am nowhere to be seen in the other two. I will be interested to see what this counterpoint will reveal for the viewer; this dialogue across the works.  I don’t really want to pre-empt this.  As I have said earlier, I am just testing this stuff out.


Rhett D'Costa's exhibition -  "Shimmering Spaces: Exhibition 2 : project 2 Rumour - project 3 Bespoke - project 4 A.E.I.O.U. - project 4 Reading from Both Sides" opens at Stockroom on Saturday 13th April at 4.30.   It runs untill 5 may 2013.

Opportunity Knocks at Stockroom

For those of you who may not know, there are a number of fantastic opportunities to become part of the Stockroom family.


Opportunity 1:

Boyd Alternatives has moved their showroom out of the lower space at Stockroom.  It is now vacant and looking for a new life.

We are putting the call out for people to lease this fantastic and versatile space.  Do you have the perfect concept for the space that can slot into the already fantastic and vibrant space that is Stockroom?

We are looking for proposals from interested people/groups.

It may be food based concept, a venue for music and performance, retail or vintage, Makers co-op studio/outlet - your only constrained by your imagination (and the constraints of commerce).

The space is ready to go for retail and includes a store room and independent access.

There is easy access to amenities (gas, water, sewerage) if your thinking of a food/bar/venue and the space can be isolated from the Stockroom shop and gallery space via a roller door for night access.  We are happy to give our existing Stockroom coffee making arm to you.

The space is approximately 89 sqm and the rent is very reasonable;  And remember, anyone who takes the leap already has the huge promotional network of Stockroom and plenty of existing foot traffic.

What are you waiting for?  Hook up a meeting and pitch us an idea.

 

 

Opportunity 2:

Last year we built a beautiful new space between the lower shop (for lease) and Jason's Studio.  The idea was to create a learning space and conference room, but unfortuneatly reality has hit and there is only so many hats we can wear.  We just don't have the time to co-ordinate and run courses.

The space is up for lease and is perfect for a makers or design studio with the option to sell your wares direct from the studio if you so choose.

Its a beautiful, fully insulated light filled space.  There is nearby access to a sink with hot and cold water and you can even use the desks and chairs if you so wish. 

The space is approx 30 sqm and the rent is $120pw.

 

 

 Opportunity 3:

The project space is not running a set gallery program this year, which means there is scope to make your short term project happen!

We are looking for people to pitch idea's which may include "pop up" concepts, product launches and associated projects, exhibitions or workshops.

The Project space is a raw, textural space.  Its versatile, with gallery spot lighting, hanging systems and natural light.  With direct access from the main Stockroom retail space, this is the perfect space for your short term project.

The Project space is approximately 30sqm and is available for hire.  Minimum term is one weekend and includes promotion, staffing and administering of sales. 

 

For further information drop in to Stockroom and have a chat with Magali and Jason or alternatively  email - i@stockroomkyneton or phone 035 422 3215.