Artist Profile

Artist Profile is a fresh, imaginative magazine recording the personalities of leading artists and rising art stars that fill the visual arts and inspire a new generation of art lover. The magazine features intimate studio portraits, artists' working environments, leading opinion writers, previews of major public gallery exhibitions, feature articles on international artists and events, book reviews and more.

Contributors

Editor’s Note

A BLUR OF COLOUR, GOOD MUSIC AND BAD ART HISTORY

India Mark • BASED IN THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS, SOUTH OF SYDNEY, INDIA MARK CREATES CAREFULLY CONSIDERED STILL-LIFE PAINTINGS THAT AVOID THE OVERT POLITICISATION OF SO MUCH CONTEMPORARY ART. LAST YEAR SHE COMPLETED A POSTGRADUATE DEGREE FROM THE NATIONAL ART SCHOOL, AND MARK IS NOW WORKING TOWARDS BECOMING A FULL-TIME ARTIST.

Abdul Abdullah • ABDUL ABDULLAH IS NOT INTERESTED IN SHOCKING YOU, HE IS INTERESTED IN SPEAKING TO YOU. EACH OF HIS ARTWORKS CONTAINS AN INVITATION OF SORTS, WHICH DRAWS THE VIEWER INTO A CONVERSATION THAT IS SOMETIMES CHALLENGING, SOMETIMES DIFFICULT, BUT ALWAYS IMPORTANT.

Guo Jian RUBBISH CULTURE • CHINESE-AUSTRALIAN ARTIST GUO JIAN IS ONE OF THE GREAT CHARACTERS OF AUSTRALIA’S CONTEMPORARY ART SCENE. HE’S A NATURAL STORYTELLER, PERHAPS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS WILDLY SENSUAL AND WITTY PAINTINGS MIXING UP IMAGES FROM REVOLUTIONARY MODEL OPERAS, LEERING SELF-PORTRAITS, SCENES FROM MILITARY LIFE AND SOFT PORN IN RAUCOUS AND GARISH VISUAL NARRATIVES. BUT HE HAS A SERIOUS, VERY POLITICAL SIDE TOO, AND THAT COMES FROM AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE STORY.

Jacqui Stockdale • MELBOURNE-BASED ARTIST JACQUI STOCKDALE WORKS ACROSS PHOTOGRAPHY, DRAWING, PAINTING, COLLAGE AND PERFORMANCE TO EXPLORE THE DISPARATE AND OVERLOOKED HISTORIES OF AUSTRALIA. THROUGH ARCHETYPAL CHARACTERS, SYMBOLISM AND CAREFULLY RESEARCHED THEATRICAL SETTINGS, COSTUMES, AND PROPS INCLUDING LIVE ANIMALS, STOCKDALE FOCUSES HER LENS ON THE FEMALE NARRATIVES OF THE PAST IN THE HOPE OF SHEDDING SOME LIGHT ON THE FRAUGHT ISSUES OF AUSTRALIA AS A NATION IN THE PRESENT.

Kaylene Whiskey • KAYLENE WHISKEY’S PAINTINGS COMBINE CULTURE AND HER ENVIRONMENT (INDULKANA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA) WITH THE CONTEMPORARY MUSIC AND MEDIA – FROM MICHAEL JACKSON TO CHER, DOLY PARTON AND WONDER WOMAN – THAT BRING HER JOY. SHE HARNESSES HER IRREPRESSIBLE HUMOUR, VIBRANT COLOUR AND A VIVID IMAGINATION TO EXPRESS THE OFTEN HARSH REALITIES OF HER PLACE AND TIME.

Ways of Seeing Tom Polo • IT MAY BE DIFFICULT TO NAME AN AUSTRALIAN PAINTER WHO CREATES WORK WITH AS MUCH INTELLECTUAL RIGOUR AS TOM POLO. HIS PRACTICE ENCOURAGES US TO RE-LEARN THE ACT OF SEEING AND TO READ PAINTINGS IN A WAY THAT GOES BEYOND THE SURFACE, INTO DIFFERENT WORLDS OF PERFORMANCE AND INTROSPECTION. POLO BREATHES LIFE INTO AN AGEOLD MEDIUM OFTEN SEEN AS TIRED AND WORN DOWN IN THE PULSATING WORLD OF CONTEMPORARY ART.

Simon Denny • SIMON DENNY DOESN’T DEAL IN LIGHT IDEAS. SURE, HIS LATEST SHOW ‘MINE’ HAS A JUMBO BOARD GAME SUITABLE FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY (YOU CAN EVEN TAKE HOME A PLAYABLE VERSION!), BUT IT’S FAR FROM JOVIAL. THE NEW ZEALAND-BORN BERLINBASED ARTIST SAT WITH ME AT HOBART’S MONA TO CHAT ABOUT CONTEMPORARY POWER RELATIONS, SURVEILLANCE, DATA MINING, TECHNOLOGICAL SYSTEMS AND ENVIRONMENTAL PILLAGE.

Our Darling Barka Badger Bates • BADGER BATES IS A BARKANTJI ELDER, A POLITICAL ACTIVIST AND CONTEMPORARY ARTIST. WORKING PRIMARILY IN PRINTMAKING, WOOD AND STONE CARVING, BATES’ PRACTICE IS INTRINSICALLY LINKED TO HIS LIFELONG FIGHT FOR THE SAFETY AND HEALTH OF THE BARKA (THE DARLING RIVER).

Patrick Hall Beauty & Horror • A POPULAR WAY OF PRAISING AN AUSTRALIAN ARTIST IS TO PROCLAIM THAT HIS OR HER WORK SHOULD BE BETTER KNOWN OVERSEAS. IT’S IRONIC THAT HOBART-BASED ARTIST, PATRICK HALL, IS PROBABLY BETTER KNOWN OVERSEAS THAN HE IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF BASS...