collaboration

I have developed a habit of collaboration over the past two decades. With friends and colleagues, family, and sometimes even complete strangers. The illusion that we create anything on our own has always infuriated me. There are invisible hands at work in everything that is made, written or built, but we are happiest if we can attribute these to a single author. Working with my father on the Finial/Filial work has been immensely rewarding. We experiment with tangles, branches and limbs. I am getting my own studio space for the first time in years and I am nervous and excited. Like so many artists I have used kitchen tables, spare rooms and other people's workshops to devise and make work. I took advantage of the empty studios at work to photograph an experimental set up for S2Q Finial/Filial. The thought of being able to keep it assembled and play with it for an extended period of time is intoxicating.
My partner, my son and I went to David Nixon's opening at Woolloongabba Gallery last Friday evening. David's printmaking is beautiful but I was particularly taken by his gentle constructions and his video work. There is a warmth and affection in what he does that I really enjoy. I have known David for over 20 years and this is a perfect reflection of his personality.