Humans of USyd: Artists
Emily Graetz interviews two visual artists and a film producer about their relationships with creativity and the transformative power of the arts.
Content warning: sexual assault, domestic violence, mental health
Ricky Kremer
Ricky works in film production and is a Uni2Beyond student. His work has been featured widely, including at Flickerfest.
One day I was just browsing facebook and I came across Bus Stop films, a film course which is for people with disabilities. I thought ‘this looks good’ and I just got involved from there. Last year I was going to go to Melbourne to work on Neighbours and Wentworth but Covid came so it just seems like it tends to happen when I've got something good going on.
Being involved in a film is quite an involved process. I guess there's a lot of different roles that people have. So working as a team is quite essential. For me, I've done a range of things, starting from the bottom where you're doing coffee runs and helping out the crew needs to being in the production department. I kind of love production, staying on top of things, making sure people are running on time and just getting things prepared for a shoot. That's what's so good about film, there's a whole range of different jobs you can do.
There’s challenges. You could have multiple places to do shoots. There could be things like weather conditions if you're shooting outside, someone might have to fill in on a day when someone's not there. It's long days but I guess the end product is what you kind of do it all for.
I think because I've tried a lot of different things like a bit of camera, bit of running things, a bit of directing, I feel like I've gained a whole lot of different skills. I find that in the film industry people just get along, they're super friendly and the more opportunities you get the more people know you in the area.
Being involved in film production has made me realise I can kind of achieve more than I thought I could. Going into it you have no idea what you're doing but I've managed to kind of pick it up very quickly and realised this is what I want to do. Even in school or a bit after school I had no idea what I was going to do and so when I started the film course I thought this is really for me.
It's definitely a dream goal for me to kind of get in the industry long term. Like any work, it's got its ups and downs but I think it'd be fantastic to do a whole bunch of filming. The end product is so worth it, seeing it on the big screen, that's what film makers live for. That kind of moment where you get to show off what you’ve done.
You can watch a range of films that Ricky has been involved with including One Giant Leap, Short Changed and What Was It Like. He is currently working on an educational film about consent with his wife. It’s set to be released on Valentine’s Day 2022.
Charlene Tink
Charlene is a watercolour artist who is studying Liberal Arts & Science (Neuroscience).
I always have been into art since I was a little kid. I know other kids had cool toys, I had paper and pencils and so I would make my own toys. I remember I made these cute little figurines; I made my own doll out of paper. Making art is therapeutic. It feels like I'm taking all this burden off my shoulders and displaying it on paper so that I'm able to express myself instead of keeping it all in.
A lot of my art is about mental health and Covid has done that to me. I have been through a lot of stuff. I don’t have so many social connections. Painting helps distract myself from the fact that we live in a pandemic, it makes me feel a little less bad about staying at home and studying and then sleeping and then studying and then sleeping. Painting is a good relief.
I have been through a lot through the past two years, a horrible two years of my life. I'm now diagnosed with PTSD so there's a lot of content for my art to kind of express myself and let it all out. I find it way better to communicate visually than to just talk to people about it. Talking about it feels kind of taboo, it has like a negative stigma around it, so I'd rather not, I only trust really close people with that sort of information. I like art: I'm able to communicate without having to use words.
I'm a survivor of domestic violence which is the main theme of this paining. I made this painting a good week or two weeks after I left the abusive relationship so I had a lot to express about it. The handprints are strategically placed on the hip, the breast, the eyes and the mouth as if they're being blinded in silence. The whole person in general is in a foetal position (which I created by tracing around my own body) so she's quite vulnerable and recovering from what she's been through. If you look closely on the brain, I have used a black marker on the hippocampus, amygdala and prefrontal cortex which are all the parts of the brain which are used to process stress and trauma. The amygdala is responsible for fear responses, so it's all dripping with ink down to the bottom - which I achieved by holding the painting up vertically and just letting it drip naturally.
There are also some white bits, some more positive bits, like the brain, the heart, the pulmonary veins, the aorta - they've got some flowers and white parts. There's a peony near the arm and the knee. I want to title this painting ‘survivor’ because it's more on the end part of my experience. I think I've had enough of being the victim and I just want to grow, which is why we have lots of flowers and motifs of light.
I think it is very bold of me to do something so dark, but this is kind of like reality. I've been through some dark shit. I've been through some horrible things and I'm just letting it all out there. I feel a bit vulnerable as an artist to be so open about what I've been through. I hope that the audience that looks at this is able to accept it.
Being an artist has given me a reason to like myself. One of my core beliefs is that I'm a burden and I always feel guilty for being around people as if I'm not worthy enough for it for some strange reason. But being an artist makes me feel like I have a lot of emotions, I have a lot of empathy for people. I feel a lot. It's more of a blessing than a curse. Friends have told me that my art makes them feel something because they've also experienced bullying, or discrimination or traumatic experiences and they tell me their hardships. I like that I can speak to people as an artist.
One of my fears with my art being so connected to mental health is wondering whether people will be able to recognise it or appreciate it. Will they think it's too much? Too confrontational? This art that I've done, really has no filter. The rest of my art is colourful and vibrant but this one's more raw, brutal emotion and not everyone can appreciate it. But for the people that know what I'm trying to depict, what I'm trying to express, who can relate to it, it really makes them feel something and connects us all together.
You can find more of Charlene’s work on Instagram @charlenetink_art.
Bridget Kelly
Bridget is an abstract artist and colourist and a Uni2Beyond student at the University of Sydney.
I love art. When I was little, I liked drawing and colouring in. Then I found colour by number books, I used them all the time! In high school, my art teacher told me about Posca pens and I fell in love. They are so good to colour with. Right now I use the Posca pens on paper and wood.
Art makes me so happy and calm. It helps me express myself because I can show people different parts of me. It makes me feel really happy and proud that people like my art and want to buy it.
I liked lockdown because I got to do my art everyday, and listen to music at the same time! I was meant to have a solo exhibition, but no one could come because of Covid. My family helped me post it on Instagram and Facebook and that made me really happy because everyone could still see my art. Since then, I’ve gotten a grant with Blackbird Venture Capital, spoken at a conference and sold lots of artworks.
This art is from my garden series that was commissioned for a rooftop garden at 107 Projects, an art gallery in Redfern. I used Posca pens on wood, and it’s waterproofed with resin. I love the garden series because I think they are beautiful shapes and they have lots of happy colours. I want to do more of them soon.
Being an artist has taught me that I love shapes and colours and I’m very patient when making a piece. I am a pretty quiet person and I like to focus on my art. My art helps people understand me more, I like being able to show how I feel without talking. I hope people share my art with their friends, and follow me on social media, because it makes me really happy when people buy it.
You can find Bridget on Facebook, Instagram and on her website.
These Humans of USyd stories are compiled in response to the editor’s prompt questions. Bridget shared this story by collaborating with her sister, Morag, who transcribed her responses.