An artist, curator and academic, David Sequeira’s multidisciplinary practice has spanned over three decades, with colour as its driving force. From his home studio in West Melbourne—where he creates across his house—he discusses his all-encompassing approach to art making, as well as his bold exhibition, All the things I should have said that I never said, and its relationship to his Indian background.
“And being on Country has given me permission to speak loudly,” says artist Leanne Tobin, “to tell the truth about what has happened to the Dharug, to my family, and also to make work about the shared need to care for Country.” We visited the artist in her studio ahead of her current showing at Biennale of Sydney.
Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran is known for his iconoclastic figurative sculptures that are bright, bold and larger than life. We visited the artist’s studio to learn more about Nithiyendran’s process, and hear about his inclusion in HOTA’s summer show.
“I do something every day, even if it’s only a scribble. But of course I still have doubts. There is no certainty in this game. There are no rules.”
“Our country and culture has been there all the time, it is our strength, our dream, and our stories. No one can take that away from us. So, we’ve got to tell that story and share it.” – Jimmy Frank, Tennant Creek Brio
“Sometimes it’s like I have a big spinning sort of feeling in my body: hard to soft, angles and sharpness, then really beautiful and cuddly and soft.”
Alex Seton is known for his marble sculptures. These carved stone works often mimic the soft folds of fabric, but they have a hard political edge.
“How good can we get something to look, that’s got no value, really?” says artist Natalie Thomas. “I use $2 shop paint generally. I just look around at what I’ve got access to and use it, see how good I can get it.”
Trent Walter has run Negative Press, a publisher of limited-edition prints and artist books, for over a decade. Now, for the 22nd Biennale of Sydney, Negative Press is home to a new piece of equipment—the Heidelberg GTO 52, an offset lithography press—and a new collaboration with designer Stuart Geddes to produce a publication, NIRIN NGAAY.
