Lady Pink Creative is starting a new Featured Artist series on young people creating waves in the creative industries. Our third interview of the series is with Adelaide based artist, Lilly Buttrose. 

Lilly has been awarded a bachelor of visual arts from the University of South Australia and is currently undertaking a two-month studio residency at Nexus Arts with a solo exhibit of her work due in August, 2015. 

Lilly Buttrose, 23, Emerging Artist
 

LPC: What’s your dream job?

LB: I would say that I’m not a someone who dreamed of their perfect job since they were little, nor have I really been struck along the path to seek a straight forward job description. More so I am interested in having my ideal lifestyle, which fluctuates often depending on where my relationships, interests, jobs and projects take me. Currently, being where I am, with my visual arts degree, I am looking towards completing my honours degree within the next couple of years, my ideal lifestyle is to be able to maintain a sustainable visual arts practice. The avenues in which to maintain an arts practice that balances financially with my way of living are varied and my current attitude is to keep an open mind for what is ahead.

LPC: Favourite Creative place/creative watering hole?

LB: My nomadic studio that currently moves from residency to spare room, back and forth.

LPC: Tell us about your most rewarding project thus far

LB: Handheld an exhibition that I was asked to be a part of last year for Country Arts South Australia. The group exhibition included four artists, each using a suitcase in the work, responding to themes such as home, travel and place with respect to regional South Australia. Proposing to use this opportunity to travel regionally intrastate I was able to create an installation worked directly from the organic landscape. The group exhibition started touring last year and will continue its journey through the South Australian regional galleries until 2017. The project and entire experience of being part of a group show with people I had never worked with before was a big learning curve and a humbling experience.

LPC: Most inspired when...

LB:  ...I look at other artists work;  be it in a book, watching a documentary or seeing artist’s work face to face, local or international. Even if the work disappoints me it can propel new ideas or challenge problems I face in my own work. But when the artwork hits the spot? Well that’s why I chose this field.

LPC: Favourite time of the day/month/year?

LB: In the morning, the air is nothing like the rest of the day, fresh and new. The morning for me is also the best time to start working, when I have the most energy and a clear mind.

LPC: When things don’t go 100%, what gets you through?

LB: The reasons why I began the project in the first place, or what/who got me here. This residency for example, if a particular experimentation doesn’t go to plan or is a complete bust it is rather a learning curve than anything else. But, what I am constantly reminded by is the reasons I am able to experiment and work in Nexus Arts is because I was asked to, which is the most encouraging gesture for an artist to receive. 

LPC: Who are your mentors and what have you learnt from them?

LB: Former teachers, friends and my partner Jordan Gower. On a practical level my former teachers have guided and encouraged my practice so I can achieve my highest potential. My fellow peers and friends are also great mentors for almost every category; conceptual, practical, food and living, social and networking. Peers are the best source of problem solving as the arts community has an immense sense of sharing information. My partner of whom I share all my thoughts with, Jordan continues to teach me, push me forward and pick me up when I need it most.

LPC: What are your favourite books?

LB: Fiction: The Elegance of the Hedgehog, Muriel Barbery
Resource: Nature: Documents of Contemporary Art, Edited by Jeffrey Kastner

LPC: Tell us a little more about your current major project

LB:  I am currently undertaking a two-month residency at Nexus Arts with a resulting solo exhibition in August. I was asked to propose a project that considers Nexus Arts’ premise in conjunction to my practice. The project accepted investigates more personally my interest in the human and environment symbiosis, specifically in the organic landscape. Looking into how my family’s past interactions with the South Australian environment has influenced the way I interpret the landscape, negotiating between finding sentiment in new environments, translating notions of dislocation and finding links between my family’s experiences. These studies are externalized through sculptures.

LPC: Where do your ideas come from?

LB: My instinct to source motivations is to go out into the natural landscape, through bush walks, beach walks or drives through the hills. The social variables that are inextricably linked to the landscape also innately feed into my work.

LPC: What does your workspace look like?

LPC: What is the best decision you’ve ever made?

LB: Completely dedicating myself in my major subjects at university.

LPC: What does a typical day in your life look like? 

LB: Certainly there are no typical days however, there are moments of routine. I find that I can get lost without a routine so I try to instil small routines throughout the day such as exercise, regular meals/coffee breaks and give time to turn off (ie reading, socialise).

LPC: What advice would you give to a young creative entrepreneur? 

LB: If you are beginning study in your creative area, extract as much information from lecturers, teachers, peers as you can. Not only will this guide you with the information you need to become successful in your area, you will make vital relationships that can steer you into careers, projects, collaborations and more. These networks will continue to expand as long as you are proactive and enjoy what you are doing.

Lilly's Journey

2011     
Began Bachelor of Visual Arts Specialisation at the University of South Australia

2013     
Exhibit in first exhibitions outside of University in two group shows Chopped and Semblances. 
Finalist in the Waterhouse Natural History Exhibition and exhibit at the South Australian Museum.

2014     
Take part in a four-week volunteer trip in Fiji as part of Volunteer Eco Students Abroad.
Accepted into a year long studio residency at Carclew in North Adelaide.
Exhibit first solo exhibition in Urban Cow Studio, exhibit in group exhibitions across Carclew and in the South Australian Living Artists Festival, Handheld Country Arts SA touring exhibition. 
Graduate from South Australian School of Art at the University of South Australia.

2015    
Curate first show at West Bar.
Exhibit in major fundraising exhibition Icons of South Australia.
Accepted into a two-month studio residency at Nexus Arts including a resulting solo exhibition in August 2015.
Accepted into a two-month residency in Itoshima, Japan for October 2016
 

Image Credits: Jordan Gower

To Contact Lilly visit her website: www.lillybuttrose.com

Via email: lillybuttrose@hotmail.com

And Follow her journey at Nexus Arts