In 2001 I was in Primavera at the MCA. I was 30, not exactly a spring vegetable but well within the ’35 years and under’ tag line the MCA use to promote the exhibition. Now, 11 years later at the age of 42, I’ve been asked by Charlotte Day (associate curator at ACCA) to be in NEW13. It’s a great opportunity and one I am more than happy to accept. This website will document the development of this new work.
There is a tendency in the media to portray artists in Primavera and NEW as ‘rising’ or ’emerging’. This time around I’m happy to defy this description. The career path for visual artists in Australia is not straight forward – very rarely do artists ’emerge’ into anything resembling a sustainable working environment. Artists of all ages and at all stages of their career struggle to make work and to find an audience for that work. The notion of emerging into a career propelled by a ‘break-through’ show is delusional and we should probably stop speaking in these terms.
But being in NEW13 is a great opportunity. An opportunity to make new work for a unique and challenging space, to engage with passionate people to see this work realised, and to have the work experienced by a large and diverse audience. I’m looking forward to working with Charlotte on this project – opportunities like this don’t come along very often (once every 11 years if my experience is anything to go by).