mY ART DIRECTION

Let me tell you a story….. 

I left school far earlier than I should.  

But I had this desire to be financially independent and not a burden on my Mum bringing up 4 boys under the age of 11.  

So at 16, after failing dismally at maths and physics, two key subjects in the study of electricity, I began an apprenticeship as an electrician working for the South Australian Government located at the Museum and Art Gallery. 

Over a short period of time I had the pleasure and privilege to walk through these spaces in the morning, maintaining the exhibition lighting before opening. 

Frida Kahlo, Andy Warhol, Picasso and for a teenager, Fiona Hall who folded genitalia into sardine cans, it aroused my curiosity around sexuality and creativity.  

At the same time I developed a passion for light. And lighting design. 

A corporate career for 25 years in lighting followed and then in 2017, I started painting again and tapping into my creative side. In late 2018, I was expelled formally from the church for affirming and belonging to the LGBTIQ community. The sermon still sits on Spotify. 

In 2019, I held my first solo art exhibition and sold 8/15 works on opening night. 2020 saw my first commission which has taken me down the pathway of cubism. 

Contrast, duality, intertwined complexity of relationships, diversity in thought; perspectives on science and religion has transformed my style in what I try to call my self-titled unqualified art style of punk cubism. 

During the Great Lockdowns of 2020/21 I gave up drinking and this propelled my art and created characters that I called the 12 Disciples of Footscray, a collection of characters exploring the persecution by religious fundamentalism on LGBTIQ representation. I explored sex-positive, consent culture kink communities, intersectional feminism and I am challenged by the ever advancing onslaught of technology. 

Oil on Canvas is my preferred medium, starting digital 2D for conceptual works and ideas but have tried digital sculpting in 3D art forms.

I love the idea of secret societies, secret places, thoughts and decided that I would like to have my own. Although it's really not that secret. I sign all my works with ELUMENARTi® which is a culmination of all the things that keep me curious and wanting to know more. 

• E - Science

• Lumen – Light

• Arti – Creative

Visiting the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburg in 2022