IT’S RAINING - China Heights 9th February 2024

TRANSCRIPT OF CONVERSATION between Pearl Smith,
Pops Bagnall, Madi Feist and Clare Wigney

Redfern NSW, 28 November 2023


Pops: It’s good to have conversations about what you are making

Clare: I think it is really about dialogue and sharing- not just in exhibiting but in the process of making as well

Pops: yeah

Pearl: I think because, we are all such different artists, and we do not want to go down the path of having a themed show, an overarching thing that we can all think about is how do our practices relate to one another- just as a question. And at the end of the day this show could be an answer to that question, and the fun involved in curating a space with diverse works. I think that will be exciting.

Pops: I think we are all pretty reserved even in talking about our own work. Sharing and discussing our works in the process is a pretty good way to become comfortable

Clare: the best thing ever is having painting conversations. Pearl and I always have…and it’s so nice when you are in the studio and you get really excited about something, or really frightened or angry, and you can talk about it

Madi: oh god, frightened and angry all the time

Clare: we were talking earlier about, rather than there being an overt theme for the show, if anything it could just be expanded painting- painting not just as canvas and frame on wall. Its always interesting…

Pearl: well my paintings always just end up coming off of the wall… but they’re still paintings. Usually I do plywood cutouts. Even leaning paintings.

Madi: I feel like out of everyone my practice is the most different in the sense that I barely use paint at all…

Clare: I’m just going to, im just going to look at…

Madi: I use a lot of repurposed objects and it becomes about colour and texture. But I’m trying to use less colour because….

Pops: there will always be an intentional pallet there with your choice of object…

Madi: yes

Madi: I found an old real estate sign and peeled the vinyl off of it…

Clare: cool

Madi: maybe that is something to keep in mind. Its interesting how we are all friends, and we can all…

Pops: lean into this

Madi: yeah there is give and take and learning

Pearl: and I think what you were describing with the frame that you found, and I know this is only one example of what you are doing… but to me that sits in the realm of the question of painting, or what constitutes a painting. And I think for me when I am painting, that is the overall question, always- what is painting or why am I painting? There are other things, but I am never making a painting towards a theme, it’s just that. And I guess that could be what we are trying to get at, with such vastly different practices.

Madi: and that is the thing, I don’t like labelling myself as a painter or a sculptor

Pops: its also a way of you exploring your way into painting

Clare: it’s raining

Pearl: but when I am making works they are always about… something… very specific. And I just don’t know how to abandon those ideas

Clare: no that’s good! My works are about very specific… extremely specific things… and ….

Pops: do you mean that you almost want to have a piece of writing to explain each work?

Pearl: well no, its just that when I make these works about specific things I envision them in a group together, with the other works I’ve made…

Clare: if I think about, if anything, a loose theme that our respective works will work towards… and I’m just going to sound a bit silly now…really it’s just about how we each interpret and see the world. And the specific things that we tend to or want to make works about are just by default part of our unique perspectives. It is just about the world and its contents.

Pearl: true okay

Clare: I guess it will happen more naturally as we are sharing

Pops: I think if it is within your process to work towards your own kind of brief, but I don’t think it necessarily needs to be a shared brief, because I don’t think it will work regardless. Your works can definitely speak to one another too- they don’t all need to be independent and able to work with everyone else's- that is part of your process. If you work within guidelines then you should. My process feels very different in that it is all about completely letting go. That is the way that I find I work the best.

Clare: Painting to me is just about playing with information or revealing or concealing something. We all do that, whether it is overt or not, or an image or just visual noise or a gesture or an object. The metaphor or allegory or concept of the image doesn’t always, or doesn’t at all, matter, when it is about this process of information

Pops: and that is all about our lens - how you are able to break down the information, digest it and understand it. It will always look different, how you are able to push it as your version of reality…

Clare: yeah, I hate naming shows

(Everyone agrees)

Pearl: I think that will come

Pops: I like to have the conversations about whether or not a work is finished

Clare: that is the best thing about sharing art, and the collaborative process or dialogue. When you are making a work yourself you can never truly see it with clear eyes. Before you even start you have a….

Pops: an attachment to an idea

Clare: yeah. The viewer offering advice can see the work clearly from that one point in time- not from the beginning and the steps involved, or not with the ideal end point in mind.

Pops: I think it is a powerful tool to use. Teaching one another

Pearl: maybe that is what the show is about- learning about each others practices as best as we can, talking about them

Madi: the idea of learning through sharing and collaboration. Pearl and I were talking about it before.

Pops: and its not overt collaboration in the works, but in the sharing of information and learning process…

Madi: lets make a group chat

Pearl: I’m on and off instagram

Clare: you know what would be cool. To just have a really vulnerable show.

Pops: god I wish we were recording this conversation

Madi: I have been!

Pops: what!

(Everyone laughs)

Madi: I just didn’t want to say

Pearl: did you record us gossiping?

Madi: no when we were talking about other things I paused it