The Galeries

Travelling with Caroline Mudge and Getting Gifty with SP1

07.12.10

Caroline Mudge is a woman of the world both artistically and physically. She comes from the world of commercial advertising but has found her home in the world of fine art and she has traveled far and wide in between documenting every exotic destination with art. Her visual travel journals tell stunning and poignant stories through bright colours and soft lines.

Oddly enough though it is not these travels that you will find in Caroline’s everyday art works. You are more likely to find recycled odds and ends and quirky characters with somewhat devious, playful personalities, a far cry from the third world subjects of her travel diaries and the glossy individuals of advertising.

To see what we are talking about just head into SP1 @ The Galeries and take a peak at the work Caroline currently has on display there as part of Curvy @ The Galeries.

We caught up with Caroline, who is currently calling Tropical Cairns home, to find out more about her alternate worlds and we asked her to share some of her travel sketches with us in one vibrant varied journal.

Laos: June 1999

The people here are so relaxed! Spending most of my time trawling through market places. I'm loving all the different costumes of the Hmong. They eat everything here...fried rat, bat, toads, gizzards. Old grannies sell gunja out of their handbags. I spent a week with a family in a remote village, I got there by tractor and cart. Such an amazing experience, some of the kids had never seen a foreigner! They watched my every move so I watched them back! I think the entire village rocked up to see me try and wash by the well!

How did you get into art?

I've always drawn; encouragement from parents, friends and teachers gave me confidence to pursue it as a career.

You site rummaging through second hand stores and tips as one of your most inspiring pastimes; what is it about people's discarded objects that gets your mind ticking?

Talk to any bowerbird, it's the thrill of the find...like finding treasure. Most of it is crap but if you are lucky, you find a piece of wood, fabric or metal that stands out. I go into neutral when I'm looking for stuff to paint on and usually ideas just surface. I like that each piece has its own history and I particularly love the juxtaposition of a youthful candy coloured palette against a piece of old worn timber. Sometimes I like to let the material dictate the content of the final piece....for example the skateboard piece with the girl getting pulled along by the dog, I used to do that to my poor little dog Henry!

Can you tell us about your time working in advertising?

I got my first break in London working for an advertising company. I couldn't use a computer but he liked my drawings and said "right, if you can learn the programs in a month you get to keep the job". I used to come up with concepts and designs for Kettle chips, Loyd Grosman and Pj Smoothies. When I got back to Australia I got a job designing ads for the paper, that's when I really started getting into painting as the office work was doing my head in.

What has been the highlight of your artistic journey so far?

Well I won a drawing competition when I was about 5...no!

I'm not just sucking up, but I think it would be my association with Curvy over the last couple of years, it's such a great platform for gaining exposure. Also my first show in Cairns pretty much sold out so that was also a buzz...they were going cheap!

Burma: July 1999

Bagan is truly enchanting, I keep expecting to see Genghis Khan leap out at me waving his sword from behind one of the old ruins. The temples are stunning, I have been riding around in the mornings and evenings as it's too hot in the afternoon, gorgeous sunsets.

Rangoon was beautiful if a little overwhelming, no other backpackers so I felt pretty vulnerable. I got in trouble for looking for Aung san suu kyi's house and told to bugger off by a militant with a machine gun!

I'm loving the quaint little tea houses as they provide a quiet retreat from which to observe the bustling life on the streets. I feel like Alice in Wonderland as I sit on the tiny coloured wooden chairs sipping my tea, watching life pass by. The markets provide another great spot to draw... rainbow coloured umbrellas, fruit and veg, male monks in saffron, female monks in magenta and gorgeous children with ochre painted faces.

How would your describe the characters in your art works?

The characters are usually quirky and naughty with a humorous edge. I use them as a vehicle to express myself.

Would you describe yourself like that as well?

Yep, I would probably use some of those words to describe myself...though I’ve had to pull my socks up a little since becoming a mum. My son has definitely inherited my bad habit of laughing uncontrollably whenever someone hurts themselves!

Can you tell us about the work you submitted to Curvy @ The Galeries?

This work is part of the "Squid Slayer" series, which I have been suctioned onto since having kids two and a half years ago. Children force you to confront your demons and resolve any issues you had previously or that simply arise with the everyday stresses of domestic life, with young kids...there is no running away. They also force you to be present; they are like little zen teachers hence the meditative references in my recent paintings. The big black hairdos are symbolic of dark head spaces and the squid represents the creature of the deep with never ending tentacles dragging you down to face up to things.

Cambodia: Sept 1999

Here in Phnom Phen, everything seems to be in a state of decay or ruin, beautiful for my sketch pad but not for the inhabitants I'm sure...the people here all seem to have a sad story having lost a father or brother during Pol Pot's regime. French colonial architecture slowly crumbles under a tangled web of electrical wires, antenaes and satellite dishes. I'm enjoying the stark contrast between the colours of the markets and the enormous dumpyards that they seem to cling to!

What mediums does your work involve?

When I travel I use waterproof markers and watercolours, I love the fluidity and the nice little accidents that occur with this medium. On recycled materials I use acrylic as they are so versatile and usually stick to any bizarre surface.

Can you tell us about the artistic process behind your works?

I keep a sketchbook and just jot everything down. Once I know where I am going I will work up the drawing then go straight to the wood or canvas by doing a quick pencil outline then start painting. Once it is half finished I will usually leave it, observe it from a distance for a couple of days to see where I want to go next. The final details always seem to take forever. Some paintings are really fast, some take forever. Some have been painted over 5 or 6 times!

Morocco Nov 2000

Fes is amazing! I feel like I have been transported back in time or onto the set of Star Wars. Donkeys with carts labour up tiny smoke filled cobbled lanes, mysterious hooded men sell halal meat, camels swagger past carrying loads of goods or men dressed in robes. The aromas of spices, fried food, and mint tea make my mouth water. I keep getting hopelessly lost in the labyrinth of old alleys trying to get glimpses of domestic life.

I loved Marrakech too, the souk had a festival vibe, crazy music, acrobats, dancers, sizzling food, sparkling textiles and glowing lanterns, just beautiful.

Where have you travelled and why did you choose to go where you did?

South East Asia, Japan, India, Europe, and a little bit of North Africa. I love drawing in 3rd world countries because you have such a stunning contrast of the old and the new...little mud huts in the middle of nowhere with monstrous satellite dishes springing out of the roofing, Buddhist monks with mobiles, donkey and cart carrying a plasma tv screen.

What do you love most about the travel drawings you have shared with us here today?

They are so precious to me for the memories they contain and the fact that those moments were captured in a few seconds. I love that you can capture the essence of someone or something with one line, it's so satisfying and simple, there is nothing contrived or overworked about it.

Where would you like to travel to next?

Turkey, Greece, Croatia, Africa, I would love to explore the Middle East when things settle down a bit more.

India 2001

A Kaleidoscope of colour and chaos, this country is incredible! It's been a love/hate relationship so far battling with the bureaucracy, transport system and sheer mass of people. The constant staring and pawing to give or buy becomes tedious and tiring. The incessant honking of horns make me want to scream in frustration and the crippling poverty makes me feel hopeless and ashamed. But every time I turn a corner I am faced with something awe inspiring…women in bright coloured saris, gorgeous children playing cricket on the streets, beggars in rags , ancient temples alongside internet cafes, nonchalant cows swinging through the alleys, saddhus smoking chillums, monkeys stealing from street wallahs, burning bodies on funeral pyres, and noisy colourful weddings. My nostrils are filled with a heady mix of incense, raw sewerage, fried food, wood smoke, diesel and my ears are ringing with the deafening Bollywood music blaring from every shop, house and taxi, it's intoxicating...this country is insulting everyone of my senses but I love it!

You can find more of Caroline’s work and her complete travel journals on her website and experience it first hand until January 9th @ SP1 @ The Galeries. Whilst your in SP1 take a look at our style finds for Christmas.