SALA Podcast

Artist Interview: Monika Morgenstern

In this episode, Steph catches up with artist Monika Morgenstern. They chat about the overarching theme of mysticism in her work, and what kind of materials she uses to explore something so intangible. They trace spiritual moments across her life, from childhood awe at Europe’s cathedrals, to the natural splendour of Lake Tyrrell in Australia.
 
Monika.Morgenstern.com/biography
Adelaide Central School of Art
ArtsSA fellowship / Arts & Culture Grants Program
Erni Tinesz (glass artist)
Numinous encounter
Wordless Silence at Barossa Regional Gallery, Mon-Sun 11am-4pm, 26 July – 2 October 2023.
Prima materia [wikipedia]
Jerome Lyons / Cheese Factory Studio Gallery, Meadows SA
Strathalbyn, South Australia
Sea Lake, Victoria
Masonic lodge
THRFG - Creative Health Art Prize 2023
@MonikaMorgensternArt
MonikaMorgenstern.com
Monika on Facebook & YouTube
Monika's work on Shop SALA
 
Music: Dark Water by Xylo-Ziko

Artist Interview: Ian Gibbins

Steph catches up with artist Ian Gibbins in this special science-themed episode presented in partnership with Inspiring SA. They chat about Ian's work as scientist and how it informs his art, and some surprising parallels between the fields of science and art – from the urge to show your work to others to the tedium of failed experiments.
 
Show Notes
IanGibbins.com.au
Chris Wallace-Crabbe
Vincent Buckley
Urban Biology
The Joinery
Ian Gibbins, Beyond the Floodtide
Conservation Council South Australia
Catherine Truman
A Partnership for Uncertain Times: Art + Science + Technology [catalogue]
ANAT / the Australian Network for Art & Technology
Ian Gibbins, dog daze, 2017
 
Image: lo
Music: Ian Gibbins (used with permission)

Artist Interview: Kaspar Schmidt Mumm

In this episode, Steph catches up with multidisciplinary artist Kaspar Schmidt Mumm. They throw back to his mother's artistic influence, and trace that framing of art as a vehicle for bigger things through to his latest exhibition, Rockamora. Tune in to hear why participatory sculpture isn't at all like sitting in the front row of a comedy show, and what Ursula Le Guin has to do with offering chips to bullies.
 
Show Notes:
Interview Transcript (PDF)
KasparSchmidtMumm.com
@Kaspartness (Instagram)
Koruna Schmidt Mumm
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Kaspar’s Painting works
Kaspar’s Paper works
IMMI / IMEMI
Humboldt Forum
Berlin’s bizarre new museum (Guardian article)
ROCKAMORA over the years
ROCKAMORA at Adelaide Contemporary Experimental (ACE)10 June – 12 August 2023, 11am-4pm Tues-Sat, free entry
Porter Street Commission
The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction – Ursula K. Le Guin
The Bait Fridge
Slowmango.com /  @Slowmango_
 
See also: ABC Art Works Series 3, Episode 19
 
Image: photo of Kaspar by Emmaline Zanelli, courtesy of ACE
Music: Blob Funk – Slowmango, 2023, Hypercolour Miscellaneous, courtesy of Kaspar
 

Artist Interview: Kasia Tons

In this episode, Steph catches up with artist Kasia Tons in her cosy Adelaide Hills studio. They talk about her early days in the textile industry, the labour-intensive nature of her work, and how her work calls for a re-examining of the human relationship to nature.
 
Show notes:
Transcript (pending)
One Year Dress project
Guildhouse Collections Project
Biotic Commune at the Museum of Economic Botany
@PussyRiot
GuerrillaGirls.com
Future Materials Bank
@fashion_for_bank_robbers
@Kasia.Tons on Instagram
kasiarosetons.com

Artist Interview: Chris De Rosa

In this episode, Steph catches up with artist Chris De Rosa in her home studio in Port Elliot. They chat about how she found her way to art-making, the versatility of paper as a material, her recent exhibition Seaweeding, and how living on the coast informs her practice.
 
Show Notes
Transcript of this interview [PDF]
Henry de Toulouse-Lautrec – French painter, printmaker, illustrator
JamFactory
Paper Mache / Papier Mache
flora (noun): the plants of a particular region, habitat, or geological period.
Seaweeding exhibition [art almanac] [inDaily]
beachcombing (noun): an activity that consists of an individual “combing” (or searching) the beach and the intertidal zone, looking for things of value, interest, or utility.
Museum of Economic Botany
Jessie Hussey
Spongia: a genus of marine sponges in the family Spongiidae containing more than 60 species.
Porifera: the phylum that sponges belong to.
Taxonomic rank (phylum, class, order, family, genus, species)
The Drowned World, JG Ballard, 1962
Sea Tulip
bust (noun): a sculpture of a person’s head, shoulders, and chest.
Honor Freeman: artist, performer
Mickey Mason: artist & filmmaker
Susi Benger: eco-conscious swimwear designer @CocoAndShy
Horseshoe Bay, Port Elliot
Super 8: type of film camera
Giuseppe Faraone: sound designer
Cath Kenneally: writer, poet.
Rosina Possingham: artist, graphic designerGuildhouse Catapult mentorship program
Trent Walter & Stuart Geddes [artguide interview]
Good Bank Gallery, McLaren Vale
Valerie Taylor: artist, filmmaker, marine conservationist
‘Water People’ exhibition (28 May - 31 July 2023) at Coral St Art Space, Victor Harbor
Flinders University Museum of Art
@Chris_DeRosa on Instagram
 
Music: Monplaisir - The Rise The Walk The Hope via FMA.

Artist Interview: Anna Horne

Steph catches up with sculpture artist Anna Horne ahead of her exhibition Colour Me Soft at Hugo Michell Gallery. A bit of reminiscing about her first outdoor exhibition reveals how Anna found her way to using concrete in her work - which she is now known for using. They chat about the dynamics of being an artist driven by material and process (rather than pre-visualised ideas), and the influence of current issues on Anna’s artmaking.
 
Show Notes
Interview Transcript (PDF)
Adelaide Central School of Art
Anna Horne, Weigh Down, 2014, rope, concrete, dimensions variable, installed in Rymill Park as part of FELTnatural 2014
Jimmy Dodd / Double Diamond art fabrication
Art 21
‘A World Of One’s Own’ (podcast) conversations between Tai Snaith and a diverse group of different female-identifying and non-binary artists.
Phyllida Barlow [wiki]
Alison Wilding [wiki]
Neoteric exhibition, 2022, Adelaide Train Station [catalogue]
Shifting exhibition by Centre for Creative Health at Dentons [catalogue]
Colour Me Soft at Hugo Michell Gallery
‘colour me [something]’ (idiom): An exclamation used to indicate some particular emotion or condition. ‘You did the dishes and cleaned your room? Well, colour me amazed—I never thought the day would come!’
AnnaHorne.com.au
@Anna_Horne

Artist Interview: Shirley Wu

Steph catches up with artist Shirley Wu, who is known for her glass sculptures containing coloured oils. They chat about how her work is informed by previous training in aromatherapy and bodywork, and ultimately underpinned by mindfulness. Shirley is currently an artist-in-residence at Nexus Arts and gives us some insight into her upcoming exhibition Find that Pace as part of the Adelaide Fringe Festival 2023. 
 
Show Notes
Interview Transcript (PDF)
Nexus Arts
bodywork (noun): therapiesand techniques in complementary medicine that involve touching or manipulating the body.
aromatherapy (noun): the use of aromatic plant extracts and essential oils for healing and cosmetic purposes.
Shirley Wu, Holistic Therapy 3, 2019, Blown glass filled with essential oil, cork. 30cm x 20cm x 15cm
City Rural Emerging Artist Award: a SALA Award sponsored by City Rural Insurance. See past winners.
Peter Minson
FELTspace – Artist-Run-Initiative / Gallery in Adelaide
Ursula Halpin
Canberra Glassworks
Chinese calligraphy [wikipedia]
joss house (noun): a Chinese temple
Kuan Ti Temple [sa.gov.au]
Architecture Museum – UniSA
Out of Site, curated by Melinda Rankin at the Lounge Gallery (SASA Gallery) in 2006, featuring Stephanie Radok, Annalise Rees and Qi Zhang. [PDF]
Find that Pace as part of the Adelaide Fringe Festival
ShirleyWuJianzhen.com
@ShirleyWu.Jewellery
 
Shirley would like to acknowledge Bridget Currie and Jingwei Bu, her mentors for her current project; Dr Christine Garnaut and Dr Julie Collins from the Architecture Museum at UniSA; and Dr Eleen Deprez who is writing the essay for Find that Pace.
Main image by Juan Van Staden courtesy of the artist and the University of South Australia

Artist Interview: Caitlin Möhr

Steph catches up with self-taught painter Caitlin Möhr after a busy year that included her debut solo exhibition ‘An Introspective Journey’ at Collective Haunt.
Transcript of this episode [PDF]
Show Notes
cadaver (noun) a deceased human body that is used to study anatomy
introspection (noun) the examination or observation of one's own mental and emotional processes
breathwork (noun) conscious, controlled breathing done especially for relaxation, meditation, or therapeutic purposes
mindfulness (noun) 1. the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something. 2. a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.
Viewpoint, 2022, Caitlin Möhr and Miles Dunne at The Lab
An Introspective Journey [image gallery] [Essay by Connor Foley]
Caitlin Möhr, Embracing, 2022, oil, googly-eyes and gap filler on canvas, 122x91cm. Accompanying floor-text: Love yourself. Truly. Wholly. Deeply. The earth is crying for it. To resist yourself is to resist existence. Resist resistance?
Solomon Kammer [website] [painting workshops]
down pat (adjective) learned, mastered, or understood perfectly
Floating Goose Studios & Gallery
caitlinmohr.com.au
@cait.lin.mohr

Artist Interview: Ash Tower

Steph catches up with artist Ash Tower during the exhibition Studios 2022 at Adelaide Contemporary Experimental (ACE). 
They wax poetic about knowledge systems – from library shelves and scientific journals to the honor board at the RSL – which may sound like a dry subject, but Ash’s work reveals a contagious reverence for the humanness that surrounds the growing and organising of knowledge. There’s also talk of architecture, gaming, Baz Luhrmann film trivia, and coffins.
Transcript of this episode (PDF)
Show Notes
www.ash-tower.com
Adelaide Contemporary Experimental (ACE)
Postcards from the Bibliopolis, 2013
Barr Smith Library, Adelaide
Studies of Nature, 2017
Nature (journal)
RSL: The Returned and Services League of Australia is a support organisation for people who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force.
The Burning of Vision, 2021
Baroque architecture
Via Purifico, 2021
Romeo + Juliet (film), 1996, Baz Luhrmann
Final Fantasy X (game), 2001, Squaresoft
… underneath the grove of sycamore that westward rooteth from the city’s side, so early walking did I see your son. (Romeo and Juliet 1.1.119-121)
14 Things You Didn’t Know About Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet [cosmo article]
underneath the grove of sycamore, 2021, ink on paper. 760 x 560mm
ACE Studio Program
Studios 2022 exhibition at ACE

Artist Interview: Ruby Allegra

Steph catches up with Ruby Allegra ahead of their solo exhibition ‘From My Room’ at Newmarch Gallery. Fittingly, their chat takes place in Ruby’s room, where they discuss the concept of the bed as a workspace, (a key theme of the exhibition), accessibility in the arts, and a love of Matisse. See also: blanket forts, and what spoons have to do with anything.
Transcript of this interview (PDF)
Show Notes
@RvbyTheArtist on Instagram
‘From My Room’ by Ruby Allegra at Newmarch Gallery
@NewmarchGallery on Instagram
From My Room Opening Night, Friday 4 November, RSVP for physical attendance or keep an eye out for online attendance option. [Eventbrite link]
What is Spoon Theory? – Happiful article
Post Office Projects Gallery & Studios [website][Instagram]
‘Only use your bed for sex and sleep’ [Guardian article]
‘White cube gallery’ [Wikipedia]
‘Visibility’ at Wyndham Art Gallery [Exhibition Catalogue as PDF]
POC [person/s of colour]
Ruby Allegra, Disabled Nudes
‘The Blue Nudes’ by Matisse [Wikipedia]
Frida Kahlo [Wikipedia]
Photo of Matisse in bed
 
 
 
Main image: A person with brown hair in a pink jumper holds a gray short-haired cat and looks at the camera. Photo of Ruby Allegra by Sia Duff.
Music: Siddharta Corsus - Star of David via FreeMusicArchive.org