Over the past few months, we’ve had a very special artist working in our Studio. Anna Carey recently returned from Los Angeles to finish a new body of work she’s been working on for over a year, ‘Madam Mystery’ for Artereal Gallery. ‘Madam Mystery’ is a series of fictional psychic shops where fantasy and reality can co-exist.
Anna Carey is an Australian artist living between Los Angeles and the Gold Coast whose work overlaps photography, model-making, film and drawing. Through memory and imagination, she creates fictive architectural spaces based on familiar iconic architecture which she photographs.
The camera lens magnifies the model with all its imperfections and reminds the viewer that the photograph has been constructed with a miniature materialized object. This aims to reawaken the imagination for the viewer by creating a space of stillness and reflection for one to drift between reality and daydreams – for rediscovering the universe that is inside ourselves.
Anna has also recently been listed as a finalist in The Josephine Ulrick and Win Schubert Photography Award 2022 to be exhibited at HOTA from September 17, 2022 – January 8, 2023.
We’re really excited to have you in-residence at Art-Work Studios. You’ve had some incredible adventures abroad in LA before coming home to the Gold Coast – can you share more about the experiences that lead to here and now?
Thank you, I am so happy to be at Art-Work Studios. Oh yes, I have had some other adventures alright…there is a running joke in our family that every time I plan a trip (even a day trip), it turns into a wild adventure in the sense that it does not go to plan. Some of the best adventures have been road tripping in USA. One of my favorite road trips was through Nevada, stopping in Las Vegas, Area 51, Flagstaff, Grand Canyon (which was covered in snow), and then to Santa Fe in New Mexico to our destination which was a Japanese spa with hot spring water tubs. I went through a phase where I only wanted to travel to hot natural springs. From New Mexico, we went through Sedona which was an incredible sublime vortex and then to Palm Springs and back to LA.
I had some great times in Europe, especially driving through the French countryside with the aim of finding a man called Yolo who I heard about in a magazine. He had a quarry in Provence where he cooked local food for visitors in his outdoor kitchen surrounded by olive trees. Funnily enough, we ended up finding his place on a morning walk and got to visit. I also very much enjoyed a solo trip to Paris, Germany, and a residency in Provence where I went on pilgrimages to all the castles. My husband and I also went on many other pilgrimages to architectural sites including Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water in a blizzard as well as his design school in Arizona (in a heat wave).
Please take us on a brief journey into your creative process?
The familiar spaces which I encounter that evoke memories and sensations in my body are the places I base my work on. These days my works are not usually about one place, but a conflation of spaces, as I am interested in a more global omnipresent memory. I want the viewer to have this similar experience, therefore I create a fictional space so that the viewer can drift in between reality, memories and daydreams. Once I have an idea of a space I either use my imagination to fill in the blanks or incorporate parts of other spaces that are similar.
I literally need to schedule in daydreaming – I just close my eyes and start imagining spaces. I then transfer all of these ideas to simple drawings in my diary. From there I make a scale and start the model. I never usually stick to the original plan; the work grows and evolves as I spend time with it and my imagination expands. The work sometimes looks different than I expected and accidents occur, but I allow for these alternative routes to be part of the work so the space looks lived in. From there I photograph the model, usually outside at sunset for the golden hour. With the current works, I have been doing a lot of editing in Photoshop including cutting out buildings and adding backdrops behind them. As a result they look similar to a film set and have narrative potential.
What is special about the architecture of the Gold Coast?
A lot of the older architectural styles that I depict are special to me, as they hold my memories and memories of many other people who live in the city. They also reflect the essence of the place at the time when they emerged in the post-war boom which was a time of change, optimism, fantasy and escape. Some of the spaces are very simple vernacular spaces with unique signage that the motel or homeowner created, so they become a special expression of the place while also incorporating influences from international styles.
Some places are not well designed and more for distribution, however a lot of these places were a successful design response to the climate and the coastal lifestyle. Unfortunately, a lot of them are disappearing which is a reason I started recreating these spaces.
What are some of the habits and rituals that drive your studio and life practices?
Walking. I could walk the whole day if I had my way. I actually did that when I was traveling alone in Paris and I had the time of my life. I just kept walking while gathering research of the city. I relate to the flaneurs; the urban observers who walk to understand the place and rhythm of the city.
The movement also really helps move all the ideas around and I need to do that before and after work. I also get a lot of inspiration to make work from music, looking at other images and films. I consume a lot of images and I think it really works for my practice. Also, tea! I love the moment of pause, warmth and reflection… and if I am being real the caffeine helps.
What exciting projects are coming up for you?
I’m excited about what I am working on now which is a psychic series titled Madam Mystery. I am working towards my show at Artereal Gallery in Sydney. I started it during the Pandemic in Los Angeles when travel was restricted. I wanted to create a space where reality and fantasy can coexist, like the way we slip into a state of escapism and daydreams in-between the more mundane experiences around the home.
The idea of escapism is further heightened by inserting my own real-life phone number into the psychic signage. I encourage the viewer to text ‘Madam Mystery’ as it invites viewers into a fantasy world and creates a sense of play and connection in a time when connection has been hazy. If you text or call, there will be a response and you may even get a love adviser on the other end one day if the stars align.
A moment for your photography: what camera and format do you use to capture your research and then document your work?
Most of the documentary photographs are iPhone snap shots. I also use a lot of photographs from google maps using street view, so using the camera from the google car camera construction. The final image of the model is shot with DSLR canon 7D.
Why is imagination essential to your way of being?
Since my work is about memory, imagination is incorporated as it has a direct connection with memory. Memory usually meets imagination when we are recalling a moment in time. In addition, memories sometimes are not actual reality and are more of a feeling or imagination of how we remember them.
I also believe that imagination is an integral part of the mind that leads to new discoveries and creative breakthroughs and is closer to truth, intuition, and reality than we have been made to believe. It’s more than child’s play.
What are you listening to right now? Link us to your favourite playlist.
I feel like every day this year my playlist sounds like I am celebrating Halloween. I like to listen to music that fits with the theme of my work. So I made this Halloween/Madam Mystery playlist. I’ve also been listening to this more psychedelic playlist for more of a transcendental experience and inspiration for all those out of body psychic signs. Also, my friends and I made this witch play list, which is very fitting.
Anna is represented by Sophie Gannon Gallery and Artereal Gallery. ‘Madam Mystery’ is showing at Artereal Gallery from 17 September - 15 October 2022. To enquire about works from this series by Anna Carey please contact the gallery via info@artereal.com.au.
Interview by Laurie Oxenford.
