The dream started on the way to an annual Top Arts tour in 2013. “I’ll be in the exhibition next year guys, it’ll be a life-sized lino-cut”. Obviously everyone on the bus laughed at not just the idea of getting into Top Arts, but how outrageous the idea of a life-sized lino-cut sounded.
During year 10, I was given the freedom to select a medium of my choice, I first started with dry point etchings before shifting my interest to lino-cutting and instantly fell in love. There was something about the process that intrigued me. Going from a digital image to transferring the work, to cutting it, to printing it. It just had a little bit of every medium involved.
I was on ‘schoolies’ in Victor Harbor when I heard my work had been shortlisted. Asha (another shortlisted participant) had received an email and asked whether I had one. Upon opening the email I literally couldn’t believe my eyes as I read; “Congratulations! Your work has been shortlisted for Top Arts 2014.” We made sure that everyone around us knew!
I’m sure you can imagine just how excited I was when I heard that I had made it that one step further and my almost life-sized lino piece had been accepted into the exhibition.
For me the most exciting part of Top Arts wasn’t being one of the forty-nine to be exhibiting but instead having a work on display in one of the highest regarded galleries worldwide.
The National Gallery of Victoria. Wow. What a place to have a piece of work featured. I truly am speechless.
At the moment, I’ve taken a different path away from art. I’m studying a bachelor degree of IT (Digital Media) at Flinders University in Adelaide. While not studying art or pursuing it full time, it is still something that I continue to appreciate.
I’m currently working on a number of side projects, in particular smaller prints that recreate aged pieces with a contemporary vibe. While I look to continue and expand my art practice from this point onwards I would like to one day create a series of life-sized lino-cuts and draw back to where this all began.
If you haven’t yet been to the exhibition, please do. Not just to see a self-portrait of me, but to also see the other outstanding works on offer and enjoy!