ARTIST INTERVIEW // GEORGE RAFTOPOULOS

To coincide with his current solo exhibition Mythic Nation, we asked George Raftopoulos to tell us a bit more about why he decided to become an artist, how he works, and why art matters....

George Raftopoulos in his studio. Photography by Paul Green. 

Describe your work in 100 words or less:

I equate my practice to that of  an “Odyssean adventure”. I believe my work reflects a point in time, albeit fleetingly fractured. and yet in another instant sure and precise. I draw upon experiences and comment on them daily. I attempt to make the ‘ordinary extraordinary’. So many amazing things are overlooked for whatever reason…people, places, memoirs - they are all mashed into the vehicle of creativity…and thankfully it resonates with people. This is what I term ‘the democratization’ of abstraction.

Why Art?

It constantly affords me clarity in my life and I believe that the idea that “Art = expression” is a true freedom. Through my art I get lost - only to find myself again - and it is an addictive place to be….

 How has your artistic practice changed over time?

I believe I have removed several layers of immaturity from my practice… I am now more comfortable with what I am expressing and not afraid to expose my truth to the world. However this has taken many, many canvases to attain and I still fight for this sense of truth everyday.

Plato and his mates_2015_mixed media on canvas_260 x 220cm. Photography by Paul Green.

Which artistic movements do you most identify with?

Ones that are real and of their time….Dada, Fluxus, the Situationists, they were all, and are all, reactionary and highly driven by a social commentary for truth…I am sitting between all these things.

How do you work? Can you tell us about your process?

I’m an Aesthete and my exercise is to draw and usurp…so I spend time scrawling and scribing never denying that which is automatic. I never deny anything that I have written drawn or thought. So my eyes never cease. As I believe that to be at the best of one’s ability one must constantly exercise one’s arm at what one does….

What themes and ideas do you pursue?

Social commentary, justice akin to Goya and TRUTH!... I am constantly poking fun at the establishment, as I believe that as an artist it is my responsibility to make people look at things alternatively….

Museum Quality_2015_mixed media on canvas_201 x 183cm. Photography by Paul Green.

What is your dream project?

It’s on its way and its huge!!, All I can say is that it encompasses music, theatre and physicality…stay tuned!

Where would you like to be in 5 years?

Back in New York creating large-scale sculptures and paintings that are physically huge and encompass all of my theoretical concerns….

 If your work was a…

Song, it would be… PINK MOON by NICK DRAKE.

Smell, it would be… LAVENDER.

Meal, it would be… JAM DONOUGHTS at ODEON in New York.

Animal, it would be… definitely a horse. A horse that would run and never look back, constantly forging forward without fear or trepidation…. It would be brave and conquer -  for truth always leads the horse to water…

Word, it would be… NO. People should learn to use it more often!!

YouTube video, it would be… PAUL KELLY’S song “how to make gravy’. It always sends me back to feeling homesick for when we lived in NY and I long for that feeling of homesickness….

George's exhibition Mythic Nation can be seen at Artereal Gallery until 12 November 2015. George will also be hosting an Artist Talk at the gallery from 3pm on Saturday 31 October 2015.

ARTIST INTERVIEW // HYUN-HEE LEE

Hyun-Hee Lee_White Tears_2014_Korean paper, pencil, ink, cotton thread_350 x150cm

To coincide with her solo exhibition Secrete, we asked Sydney-based Korean artist Hyun-Hee Lee to talk to us about her practice, why she makes art and the way in which her work is informed by Korean culture and buddhist practice.

Describe your work in 100 words or less: 

My works are derived from very personal experiences and memories that I have recalled from my life in Korea. Many of these involve the relationship with various rituals and practices, which are prevalent in Korean culture. My art reinterprets many of these in a contemporary context, often reinventing the original intent and place specific objectives but maintaining a connection with materials and methodologies which are symbolic and spiritual to Korean sensibilities. 

Hyun-Hee Lee_White Tears_2014_Korean paper, pencil, ink, cotton thread_350 x150cm

How has your artistic practice changed over time? 

My early work was derived from my diaries and memories of Korea. Now I still express those ideas and personal experiences. I reinterpret them in a contemporary context using the rituals and practices that are an integral part of Korean culture. Also, the mediums I use now are more delicate and fragile, such as silk and Korean paper. Almost all my work is now installation based and my methodology has become more important to me.

Hyun-Hee Lee_Devotion #2_2015_Korean paper, pencil, silk, silk thread_60 x 60cm

How do you work? Can you tell me about your process? 

Normally I do meditation to clear my mind before I start work so I can totally concentrate, as my working process is important to me. I plan my work very methodically; quantifying exactly what is needed in the choice of materials and how they will work with my concept. 

What themes and ideas do you pursue? 

Through my art practice my aim is to establish a spiritual and cultural connection with my country of birth by exploring the religious rituals and practices that are fundamental and widespread in Korean life 

and how they have influenced me. 

I came to Australia more than a decade ago and I was having great feelings of nostalgia about my family and my culture. I explore the rituals and practices that my family use and I recreate them as a way of expressing my memories. This has become a fundamental way for me to establish and maintain 

emotional and spiritual connections. 

Hyun-Hee Lee_Penitence #2_2015_Korean paper, ink, pencil, silk, silk thread_60 x 60cm

Where would you like to be in 5 years? 

Five years ago I was doing my BFA. Since then I believe I have come a long way in understanding both my art practice and myself. Five years further on I would hope my art practice will develop as much as it has prior to now. I would also like to assume that my work will be seen on a more international level.


Hyun-Hee Lee's exhibition Secrete can be seen at Artereal Gallery until 3 October 2015.
(Please note Artereal Gallery will be closed from 9-13 September for Sydney Contemporary Art Fair).

A ROBOT ATTEMPTS TO EAT A CHICKEN NUGGET...

A ROBOT ATTEMPTS TO EAT A CHICKEN NUGGET...

Tully Arnot, Josh Harle, Jason Phu, Louise Zhang are a new collaborative partnership founded as an outlet for slop and punking. Welcome to hell.

Discharge everywhere.

This is an exhibition revelling in the mess our creations make. Everything is moist. It is dripping, seeping, pooling from every crevice. In this exhibition, capacity never matches ambition.

Robots: they came for your jobs, now they want your lives.

Tully Arnot investigates human relationships with technology. The artist creates an ‘uncanny residue’ of object-life that may change how we see everyday objects outside the gallery. More recently this has been imbuing objects with behavioural patterns using microprocessors and servos.

Josh Harle’s practice focuses on subverting the rationalising drive of technology; anthropomorphizing the actions of robots to present them as quixotic and performative.

Jason Phu presents irreverent, starkly uncompromising views of human nature, and works with inanimate objects to caricature them as grotesque figures.

Louise Zhang deals with the ambiguity of the ‘blob'; mutable, in opposition to the ordered and rectilinear rational world, but potentially monstrous and cancerous; the leakage as a breakdown of control; pastel coloured goop that can be both attractive and repulsive.

Curated by Luke Letourneau. (Showing at Firstdraft until 24 July, 2015).

BEN ALI ONG // ARTIST INTERVIEW

To coincide with his solo exhibition Nyctophilia, which runs until 1 August 2015, we sat down with artist Ben Ali Ong to talk about surrealism, Daido Moriyama and the importance of always carrying a camera... 

 Ben Ali Ong_Nyctophilia 2_2015

Describe your work in 100 words or less.

I am predominantly a photo media based artist, although I have produced works using video and mixed media. Choosing to work mainly in black and white, my brooding photographs are noted for their use of dream-like imagery. Dark, grainy vistas are layered against blurry, distorted objects, animals and figures, creating a disjointed and surreal narrative.

Preferring the artworks to speak for themselves, I present them in a manner that allows the viewer to construct their own meanings and interpretations, in order to achieve a state of self-reflection. This idea is woven through my work, which is also inspired by Surrealist film and writing. I am interested in the notion of the artwork being an open-ended fragment with multiple arrangements, and its potential to convey a subconscious or spiritual source. 

Why Art?

Art is my creative outlet. Some people play an instrument, or write a poem. I take photographs.

How has your artistic practice changed over time?

I have learnt to be more honest and confident with myself in regards to the creative process, as well as how I discuss my work. There is a trend that stems from art schools to over complicate things. Artists are expected to create a grand theme to justify their artworks in an attempt to give it significance. You could say this is conceptual or intellectual art, and although that is a legitimate style, it is not representative of ALL of the creative process. I am against the notion that all art practice has to fall into this category. It has taken me awhile to accept that this is not the way I work - not because I think simplicity is a virtue, but because complexity for it’s own sake is a bore.

 Ben Ali Ong_Nyctophilia 1_2015

  Ben Ali Ong_Nyctophilia 12_2015

Which Artistic movements or artists do you most identify with?

I have always looked to the work of Daido Moriyama. In the last several years I have also been very influenced by the French Photographer Antoine D’Agata. The artistic movement I most identify with is Surrealism. 

How do you work? Can you tell us about your process?

I try to carry a camera of some sort with me all the time. I like to make photographs over a specific time period and when I have accumulated a decent amount I will look over it all and try and find a connection. Ideas develop from there and I may get ideas for specific individual works to make to complete the story or body of work. I keep it all pretty loose like that. I have tried to force it in the past and it doesn’t work for me. It does for some people but I can’t do that. It just happens or it doesn’t’. 

If your work was a…

Smell... it would be wood.

Meal... it would be something simple but nourishing.

 Ben Ali Ong_Nyctophilia 14_2015

  Ben Ali Ong_Nyctophilia 18_2015

GIAN MANIK // ARTIST INTERVIEW

Gian Manik_Untitled 2_2014

Ahead of his solo exhibition Ventilation & Natural Light, which opens next Wednesday 1 July, we sat down with Gian Manik to talk zombie minimalism, classical music and anti-photorealism...

Describe your work in 100 words or less:

My paintings explore vibration, an in-between or liminal space that is created when a painting borrows from a number of visual devices, as opposed to simply recording in a singular style.

Why Art?

I’ve always done it, my grandfather and mother both painted, so it was nurtured from an early age.

How has your artistic practice changed over time?

I used to be into painting really realistically when I was young, then at art school I didn't want to paint anymore, so experimented with video and sculpture...  I began to incorporate painting into this and then slowly recognized that I was recording the same thing in multiple media, which I though was unnecessary. So now my paintings are of simple fabrics and foils which I consider sculptures that aren’t shown, but photographed and recorded.

Which artistic movements or artists do you most identify with?

Probably Abstract Expressionism, and maybe Zombie Minimalism, although that has negative connotations.

 Gian Manik_Untitled 9_2015

How do you work? Can you tell us about your process?

I usually take a lot of photos of one or two materials, mostly foil or sometimes a screen that is used in photography to bounce the flash off it, and then print a few and then work from an image, building up between 4-10 layers of oil on canvas. I can't work from my head, I need an image to work from, so in a sense, the abstract expressionism elements I enjoy have to come from the abstraction of the object, if it looks too much like something else, I'm not interested, because then it's recognizable and, for me, not engaging. The painting style, quite messy, but restrained in places connotes this abstraction, but essentially the image is ‘photorealistic’.

Describe your average day from ‘As soon as I wake up…’  to  ‘… and then I go to bed’.

I work full time! I wake up at 5:30am and go to work (I make recipes and develop products for a food company called Loving Earth). I finish at 4pm, then go to the studio, paint for a few hours, then go home, have dinner and go to bed, unless I go out to see a friend, etc.

What music do you listen to while working?

It's pretty cliché but usually classical music, or mixtapes on soundcloud, there’s a radio station called noise in my head from Sydney that is good. I can't stand the radio with all the talk back, unless its radio national, then I sort of tune out.

What are your go-to things to do if you’re stuck in a creative rut?

Nothing, just ride it out, I rarely get into one these days. I’ve been working on the same body of work for a while and still find it stimulating and engaging. The good thing about reflective surfaces is that the will always generate a new image, so my subject matter is both consistent and ever changing. However, I do usually feel a little awkward when beginning a new painting, especially a big one, white canvasses are intimidating, but I cover it quickly and then I’m fine.

What’s the hardest thing about being an artist?

The expectation that you’re a cookie cut version of one, as in I can't afford to be in the studio 24/7 and honestly I wouldn’t want to, I enjoy spending quality time there when I need to, rather than being on the computer or hanging out with other people. Obviously also money...

And what’s the most rewarding?

Hearing honest feedback, people usually compliment, but you can tell when someone is genuinely excited or engaged or wants to know more. Also someone buying work is a big compliment.

What themes and ideas do you pursue?

Representation, the validity of realism in contemporary painting, anti-photorealism, self-portraiture, the vibration between object, image and painting.

Gian Manik_Untitled 10_2015

What is your dream project?

Maybe a fresco, a really large one that I can work directly onto a wall, for a month straight...

Where would you like to be in 5 years?

Same place.

If your work was a:


Song, it would be…

This song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnvuMc_4pvg
and this song at the same time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnvuMc_4pvg

Smell, it would be…

Probably turps and paint, to be honest, they dry really slowly, but if I’m being poetic then maybe something Smokey, like wet wood burning?

Meal, it would be…

Something you push around on a plate because you aren’t hungry.

Animal, it would be…

Coral.

Youtube video, it would be…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoYnqvadurg

 Ventilation & Natural Light, can be seen at Artereal Gallery until 1 August, 2015.