December 30, 2022 • 25 mins
Steph catches up with self-taught painter Caitlin Möhr after a busy year that included her debut solo exhibition ‘An Introspective Journey’ at Collective Haunt.
Transcript of this episode [PDF]
Show Notes
- cadaver (noun) a deceased human body that is used to study anatomy
- introspection (noun) the examination or observation of one's own mental and emotional processes
- breathwork (noun) conscious, controlled breathing done especially for relaxation, meditation, or therapeutic purposes
- mindfulness (noun) 1. the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something. 2. a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.
- Viewpoint, 2022, Caitlin Möhr and Miles Dunne at The Lab
- An Introspective Journey [image gallery] [Essay by Connor Foley]
- Caitlin Möhr, Embracing, 2022, oil, googly-eyes and gap filler on canvas, 122x91cm. Accompanying floor-text: Love yourself. Truly. Wholly. Deeply. The earth is crying for it. To resist yourself is to resist existence. Resist resistance?
- Solomon Kammer [website] [painting workshops]
- down pat (adjective) learned, mastered, or understood perfectly
- Floating Goose Studios & Gallery
- caitlinmohr.com.au
- @cait.lin.mohr
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
[gentle music]
Steph (00:00):
Hello and welcome to the SALA Podcast. My name is Steph
(00:23):
and today I'm catching up withCaitlin Mohr, who is a self
taught artist working primarilywith oil paint, but also clay
and installation as well.Caitlin had two exhibitions in
the 2022 SALA Festival, so wejust had to get her on the
podcast and hear more about herpractice, and hopefully find out
the secret to pulling off twoshows one after the other.
(00:45):
Before we get started, I'll justacknowledge that we are meeting
on the traditional lands of theKaurna People and pay my
respects to Elders past, presentand emerging.
Hello, Caitlin.
Caitlin (00:55):
Hi, Steph.
Steph (00:56):
Thanks for having me in your lounge room
Caitlin (00:58):
Thank you for being in my lounge room.
Steph (01:01):
Now we should I want to start from the beginning,
Caitlin (01:04):
the beginning
Steph (01:05):
the beginning; how did you find your way to visual art.
Caitlin (01:09):
Um, I was really into art as a kid, just like I was
quite a quiet child. So alwayslike drawing or like making
things with sticks and leaves.And just being alone and just
like scribbling and stuff. Sothat's that's like the earliest
I can remember being into art.And then I just did it
(01:30):
throughout school and then inlike, year 11 and 12. I took it
a bit more seriously, but I wasalso really into, like science,
and English and stuff. So Inever really
Steph (01:42):
Such a spread!
Caitlin (01:43):
Such a spread. It's so hard to make decisions
sometimes. But um, yeah, so as Inever really thought of art as
like a career, or like as aserious thing in my life. It was
just something that I loved todo. So yeah,
Steph (01:58):
yeah. And it's tricky. Do you keep it as a thing that you
love to do? Or do you pursue?It's such a tricky thing isn't
it?
Caitlin (02:03):
Well, yeah. So where I am now
as I can. 'cause I went to uni,and I studied health sciences.
Steph (02:12):
You did go with the science
Caitlin (02:13):
I went with the science and I was gonna do my masters in
osteopathy.
Steph (02:16):
Wow.
Caitlin (02:17):
So after I did my undergrad, I had a year off, and
then I was gonna go do mymasters. But in that year, I was
like, 'ART', like, it was justreally calling to me. And I was
like, Oh, I think I'm gonnachange my life around and go do
that.
Steph (02:31):
wow, that's actually massive.
Caitlin (02:33):
Yeah, it was massive at the time. Now I feel like I've
redirected, so I'm used to itnow. But at the time, I was
like, yeah, it was reallyintense. But really good. And
then after that, yeah,everything started kind of
making sense for me and I feltlike it was really good
decision.
Steph (02:50):
Yeah.
Caitlin (02:51):
And art became more meaningful for me as well
Steph (02:53):
Yeah, so it sort of fell into place.
Caitlin (02:55):
Yeah, definitely. Definitely.
Steph (02:56):
So good. But you do work in the health industry though?
Caitlin (03:00):
Yeah I do!
Steph (03:00):
That's very cool. I think that's, you were saying before
that, that you can draw on someof those [experiences] - we'll
get to that.
Caitlin (03:07):
We'll get to that.
Steph (03:10):
And then, for anyone who's listening that might not
have seen your work. How wouldyou describe your work?
Caitlin (03:15):
So with fancy words
Steph (03:20):
or just non-fancy words
Caitlin (03:21):
I describe it as abstract figurative surrealism.
Steph (03:25):
Yeah. Cool.
Caitlin (03:26):
If you're thinking of like a genre,
Steph (03:28):
Yeah yeah. But give us the
Caitlin (03:30):
but so yeah, I describe it as sort of using figures and
symbolism to explore our innerworlds and our way of connecting
to our inner worlds. So yeah,that's like a lot of bodies
looking into themselves or like,weird positions or conjoined
(03:51):
bodies to kind of show likedualism or like unity or things
like that.
Steph (03:57):
Yeah, I get a lot of like, very visceral dream kind
of thing from the work.
Caitlin (04:03):
I think because I studied health. We had this one
topic where it was in the lastyear of my degree, we had this
topic where we actually workedwith cadavers - I think that's
how you say it. So likepreserved bodies, and we had to
like identify all the nerves andmuscles and stuff. And I think
that really contributed to justlike, I don't know; I feel like
(04:24):
I have a strong understanding oflike, the physical body and how
our kind of like psychologicalrelationship with it
Steph (04:32):
right, yeah,
Caitlin (04:33):
because I feel like that's influences like the my
overall style a lot
Steph (04:36):
Yeah, gosh, that's amazing.
Caitlin (04:39):
Thank you.
Steph (04:41):
I also don't know how to say cadaver
Caitlin (04:46):
Cad-ah-ver I think,
Steph (04:46):
okay, cool. You're the one that knows.
Caitlin (04:48):
I hope I know!
Unknown (04:51):
[gentle music]
Steph (05:11):
So you said that inner worlds is one of the sort of
main things that you're lookinginto. What kind of like, is that
through dreams? Or likereflection? Or how much of that
is your inner world? How much ofthat is like other people
telling you about their inner worlds?
Caitlin (05:26):
Yeah. So I feel like I've always been in touch with
my inner self. I feel like it'skind of a hard concept to
understand if you've never beenin touch with your inner self.
And if you're constantlyrelating to your existence as an
external experience. For me,it's always been very internal.
(05:47):
And yeah, that's been sincelike, a really young age. So I
think I've always just, the waythat I've thought about life,
and about things that I've gonethrough have been very much
like, okay, like, what is this?Like, where, what is this coming
from? Like, what can this teachme? When I go inside, and I see
how I can grow from this, like,how does that affect me in the
(06:11):
way that I relate to things thatI go through, and the people
that are in my life? So with myart, it's not so much that my
artwork is a reflection of myinner world, it's more of a
reflection of that experience oflooking inwards.
Steph (06:34):
Okay. And that sort of framework
Caitlin (06:37):
that kind of framework of sort of how I do that, I
guess, or,
Steph (06:41):
and maybe the language.
Caitlin (06:43):
Yeah, I feel like it's the way that I talk about that
experience, but not what I'mexperiencing.
Steph (06:50):
Yeah, no, I get that. That's great.
Caitlin (06:51):
You know, yeah. So
Steph (06:53):
it's almost like 'here is the vocabulary' of that.
Caitlin (06:58):
Yeah But I feel I feel that changing in my practice a
little bit. Like since myexhibitions that I've had this
year. I'm feeling like I'mmoving more towards more. Like,
I don't know how to describe it,but more work that is coming
from my inner world a bit morenot so much of...
Steph (07:19):
so you're daring to be a little bit more like, 'actually'
Caitlin (07:21):
yeah well, I think it's because I'm understanding it a
little bit more for myself. Soit's less of, I think my art is
sometimes a reminder to myselfas well, to like, tap into that,
because I find a lot of comfortin being introspective and being
reflective and trying to seethings from different angles. So
I think I tried to pass that onto other people. But at the same
(07:43):
time, it's like a big reminderfor me, but I think I'm
embodying that theme a bit more.So now that I'm embodying it. I
feel like my art will change.
Steph (07:54):
Yeah, I mean, and that's the whole- I love that the word
for doing art is a 'practice'.So you know, it's nicely that
you're like, 'actually, I'mstarting to pull into this
area'. Yeah, that's so cool. Andyeah, it's, I mean, it's gotta
serve yourself. Otherwise, youwouldn't be called to do it.
Caitlin (08:11):
Yeah, exactly.
Steph (08:11):
And I guess that kind of answers my next question of,
yeah, what compels you to do it?So yeah, perfect. And did you
like that introspection? Is itthrough any particular vehicle,
like, I don't know, like a sortof yoga or meditation practice,
or
Caitlin (08:25):
Yeah so through a lot of things, definitely like yoga
and meditation, and justmindfulness. And just when I'm
faced with certain challenges,like how I deal with those is a
practice for me. And each timethat I have a new challenge, I
kind of see how... I'm notalways like, 'How can I'... I'm
(08:48):
not like that neurotic,
Steph (08:49):
quizzing yourself
Caitlin (08:51):
but like, looking back on things. I'm like, Oh, I
handled that situationdifferently. And from a place
that felt more like true to mydeeper self. Yeah, so that is a
massive part of it. For me. It'sjust like, my daily life.
Steph (09:04):
Yeah. And I guess it's like a muscle.
Caitlin (09:07):
Yeah, but yoga, meditation, and like breathwork
stuff is such a massive vehiclefor that, because it kind of
keeps me in touch with the body,and the mind and bringing the
two together.
Steph (09:20):
Those relationships are so cool.
Caitlin (09:22):
Yeah, it's very powerful. Yeah, but in saying
that, so other things that do,like compel me to create work is
definitely like, I feel likemore people need a bit of that
in their lives is a bit morelike just to just kind of pause
and take a minute and justreassess what's important and
(09:43):
reassess how they arefunctioning in their little
worlds. And if they can do it,from a place that's more
peaceful or kind, or justauthentic to themselves and
kinder to themselves.
Steph (09:57):
Do you think it's a pace thing or just not having
thought... it's tricky isnt it?
Caitlin (10:03):
I think it depends on the person. I think it was like
different. I think some peopledo just maybe need to slow down.
And some people maybe do needit. Like, just actually think a
bit about stuff, you know, ya
Steph (10:13):
yeah, because if you've never been introspective, it may
not come up that like, 'oh,there's something wrong', but
when you do, it's like, 'oh'.
Caitlin (10:22):
and that's I think I've had a lot of moments where I've
had, like, whether it's through,you know, thinking about
something a lot, or like throughyoga or something. I've had a
lot of moments where I'm justlike, 'oh'.
Steph (10:33):
haha yeah, that's the lightbulb
Caitlin (10:35):
I feel like I remember what I want to do with my life,
you know, and I forget thatoften. And I'm just like, ah,
like, no shit like, this iswhat's important. Like, 'ah', so
Steph (10:45):
yeah, those moments are great.
Caitlin (10:46):
Yeah, totally. So I'm like, I feel like everyone needs
a little bit of that.
Steph (10:51):
Yeah. Is there a word for that? Apart from the light bulb?
Caitlin (10:55):
The light bulb moment, I feel like the light bulb
moment is the best one. Yeah Idon't know.
Steph (11:02):
Funnily enough it's more a visual than a word. But yeah.
Which makes sense. Well, then,maybe because I this is how you
came to my attention is throughthe two exhibitions that you had
in SALA. One of them was a twopeople. It was you and Miles?
Caitlin (11:18):
Miles Dunne, yeah
Steph (11:19):
Yeah. And that was at The Lab?
Caitlin (11:21):
Yeah.
Steph (11:22):
Tell us a little bit about that one.
Caitlin (11:24):
Um, yeah. So me and Miles have been friends for a
while, we always wanted to dosomething together. And he was
sort of doing a lot of work atThe Lab. So we kind of had a bit
of a foot in the door to dosomething there. But because I'm
a painter, and the lab is a verydigital kind of space, like a
lot of the people that comethrough, they're doing digital,
(11:44):
or like audio stuff. And I waslike, How can I enter the space?
But I had already done. So last,was it last year? Yeah. start of
last year, I created fourpaintings. And these were the
first four paintings that I hadmade after I like decided I was
going to commit to art.
Steph (12:04):
Yeah.
Caitlin (12:05):
So I wasn't really intending to put them in a show.
And then once I had chatted toMiles earlier this year, or or
maybe it was the end of lastyear, I was like, Oh, I've got
these four paintings. And theythey really did go together.
Well, like we were all talkingabout the same thing and had
like the same kind of colorscheme. Yeah, the same feeling.
(12:27):
And so it kind of fell intoplace. And he sort of
interpreted my work, and thenkind of responded to that. And
then we collaborated together inthat in the way that we would
install the exhibition and withthe audio that we made to play
over the top over the topthroughout. Yeah, yeah.
Throughout the exhibition. Socool. Yeah. And it just came
(12:48):
together really well.
Steph (12:49):
That's so nice, because it is a challenge to go 'How do
I bring my practice into thisarena without forcing
something?'
Unknown (12:57):
And because The Lab has so many events on it was it was
like a pop up exhibition thatwent throughout August. So we
had to install it, and thende-install it and then install
it and then de-install it.
Steph (13:07):
Wow what an experience!
Caitlin (13:08):
Yeah, it wasn't too bad. Yeah, it was it was fine.
And the way that we had... thesystem that we had for hanging
and like taking down the stuffworked well. But that was that
was kind of the some of theproblems that we had to solve.
How are we going to... How arewe going to make this like
really functional and safe andnot too heavy? And yeah,
Steph (13:30):
And sort of unique to that space as well
Caitlin (13:31):
Yeah.
Steph (13:32):
That's Interesting. Well, that's different, I guess then,
to the show that came straightoff after which was your first
solo exhibition?
Caitlin (13:38):
That was my first solo exhibition.
Steph (13:39):
'ah' at Collective Haunt? Please tell us about that show.
Caitlin (13:42):
So yeah, so that was like, I feel like that was my
baby. Like, I just had a baby.So, so yeah, after I had
finished those paintings thatwent into The Lab show, after
those paintings, like they... Ikind of just had this feeling
that they weren't 'it'; like Ijust feel like it wasn't... feel
(14:04):
like I hadn't hit the nail onthe head in terms of my style.
And the way that I wanted topaint and like the colors that I
used, for example. So afterthose paintings, I once just did
this little sketch on my iPad,like really brief and then I was
like, 'Oh, this is cool. Ishould turn it into a painting'.
And then I did and it wasamazing. And I was like, Oh,
(14:25):
like this is it! Yeah, and sothen I was speaking to my
mentor, Solomon Kammer, aboutthis painting and she sort of
helped me kind of figure out howI could turn the the themes in
that painting into a body ofwork. And because I have so many
ideas and so many differentinfluences, yeah, I felt very at
(14:48):
the time I was like, I don'tknow, I had so many ideas for
the exhibition. I was like, Idon't know how to bring these
together. And so Sol reallyhelped me like, kind of brew it
down to like the most importantstuff. And so then from that
first painting, the rest of themkind of grew.
Steph (15:05):
That's such a great momentum to go from that one and
distill into a series like thatmust just be so satisfying.
Unknown (15:12):
It was! It was. yeah. And it was really fun. And I
felt like it that stylereally... I felt like I had a
lot of movement in there.
Steph (15:21):
We had the tell me about the line, the thread
Caitlin (15:25):
oh the blue strand?
Steph (15:26):
Yeah. Tell me about that. So just to explain
depicted in the paintings, butthen physically existed in the
gallery space to connect most orall of the work?
Caitlin (15:37):
So yeah, each painting that was in my solo show had,
Ipainted a blue band. And sowhen I put it on the walls, I
connected it with like a ribbon.It was like velvet threads,
which extended from the lines inthe painting. So it kind of made
it look like
Steph (15:54):
seamless
Caitlin (15:55):
Yeah, the line went like through the paintings, and
then up the walls, and then likeback under. One of the
superficial reasons that I didthat was because I like to, I
wanted to fill the space a bitmore, I didn't want it to just
be paintings on white walls, Iwanted it to have a bit more of
like an immersiveness to it; Iwanted people to kind of feel
(16:17):
within the walls a little bit.But then the real meaning was,
because so that exhibition wascalled an introspective journey.
And each painting was like anexploration of a way of being
introspective based on my ownexperiences. So for example,
(16:41):
there was a painting that waslike someone meditating. And
there was lots going on around.And for me meditating is a, it
allows me to be introspective.So I wanted to, through
introspection, I find, Iremember that everything is
connected in so many ways. Andyeah, just even the way that
(17:06):
life unfolds and like goodthings that happen or bad things
like I feel like they kind ofall lead to certain places. So I
feel like this is continuous,just like changing nature in the
world, and within ourselves. AndI wanted to just a really simple
way to just express that. Yeah.And so I just thought, I'll just
connect all the paintingsbecause yeah, each thing is
(17:27):
connected. Yeah. And what I'msaying so,
Steph (17:30):
and I guess if you're talking about those different
ways of being introspective,they're different inroads to one
experience.
Caitlin (17:37):
Yeah. 100%
Steph (17:39):
Yeah that is very cool. Yeah. Well, it was very, very
good.
Caitlin (17:42):
Yeah. Thank you. I loved it.
[gentle music]
Steph (18:05):
And did you have like, what was the response from... or
did you have a favorite responsefrom people seeing that show?
Caitlin (18:11):
Yeah, um, well, I think with the opening night, for that
exhibition, I had like a reallygood turnout. And Collective
Haunt's not a massive gallery.So it filled out really quick
and it just made me reallychuffed. I was like, 'oh, yay;
people are seeing my art!' And Ihad just been working on it for
so long, and putting so muchenergy into it, and not sharing
(18:34):
too much, so that it kind ofteased people to come along. And
then like just finally beingable to let people see what had
been going on for me for solong, was really good. And with
each of the paintings, I had alittle, like a little bit of
text that was on the floor beloweach painting that was
Steph (18:53):
oh actually on the ground?
Caitlin (18:54):
Yeah. So it was, like really poetic. And just like a
simple way of just kind of tyingtogether the painting. And I
think that was because I feellike I've had a lot of responses
to my work, where they're like,'uh, what's that?' 'What's going
on?' You know, and I'm justlike, that's fine. I don't
expect people to just be like,'Oh, I understand'.
Steph (19:15):
Inherently
Caitlin (19:16):
Yeah. But I wanted to just have like little prompts
just so people could kind of seewhat my angle was with the
painting. And there was this onepainting that I did, which was
based on myself. It was like twoof me connected like holding
myself. And it was kind ofexpressing the duality that you
can feel with yourself, likebeing in one place, but then
(19:38):
feeling like you're not whereyou need to be and like there's
this kind of separateness andwith this painting, I just
wanted to kind of bring thattogether and like, remind myself
and people that like you need toaccept all of yourself. Sounds a
little bit, you know, 'eh', butlike it was that was one of just
the main themes and I had a lotof people come up to me and be
like, oh, like I reallyresonated with that painting
Steph (20:00):
Oh, that's so good
Caitlin (20:01):
and I was like *exhale* yay. Like, I feel like those
little moments where people werejust like, oh, like, yeah, that
was I felt that you know it kindof it just like, that's why I do
I did it, you know, like I waskind of wanting, not wanting but
that was my intention was tomake people feel reminded of
their inner strength or whateverit be.
Steph (20:23):
And touch base with that. Yeah. And I mean it's funny
because you say, Oh, this soundsso silly, but it's the painting
that had the most connection. Soit's like, well, some things you
can't say with words, you say itvisually. Perfect.
Caitlin (20:37):
Yeah. So that was really good.
Steph (20:39):
That is good. I'll have to put that particular painting
in the show notes.
Caitlin (20:43):
Yeah, for sure.
Steph (20:45):
And what I mean, not to rush you, because you've just
done two shows, which is a featin itself. And I'm glad you've
had a little bit of a rest time.Because that's a lot and a lot
of a changing pace to have suchan intensive of making and then
have it all out in the world andbe like, Oh, what do I do now?
But do you have next steps orfuture goals in your practice?
(21:09):
You know, not that they have tobe right now. But
Caitlin (21:12):
Yeah. I definitely want to do more exhibitions. I think
I want to do bigger paintingsmaybe.
Steph (21:20):
Nice.
Caitlin (21:20):
Just a little bit. Maybe? I don't know, maybe not.
I definitely have things that Ineed to work on, just in terms
of actual painting andtechnique. And I just did a
workshop with Sol, SolomonKammer, which just reminded me
how much like; I know that I canpaint good, but there's also
because I'm self taught. I'mlike, I cut a lot of corners.
(21:43):
And I know that I could taketime to like, learn things a
little bit more and finessethings a little bit more. So at
the moment, I'm really focusingon doing that.
Steph (21:51):
Yeah, that sort of development.
Caitlin (21:52):
Yeah. And then I feel like once I kind of down pack...
down pack? that a little bit,
Steph (21:58):
get that down pat, I think
Caitlin (21:59):
Yeah. Then I think I know what I want to paint next,
because I have some really bigideas, but I don't feel like I'm
ready to tackle them just yet.
Steph (22:11):
Well, that's a good position to be in.
Caitlin (22:13):
Yeah, but I definitely am wanting to do some more
exhibitions. I've got a groupshow at Floating Goose in May
Steph (22:20):
excellent
Caitlin (22:20):
on topic of menstruation.
Steph (22:23):
I love that,
Caitlin (22:23):
which is really cool, because I've been really getting
into like learning about thewomb and like, the body
Steph (22:29):
all that interest in the body
Caitlin (22:30):
Yeah, so I think that's gonna be really nice.
Steph (22:33):
How many people do know in that show? Roughly?
Caitlin (22:35):
I'm actually not too sure.
Steph (22:37):
Okay. Well, we will stay tuned.
Caitlin (22:38):
Yeah, but it's in May.
Steph (22:40):
Yeah at Floating Goose.
Caitlin (22:42):
And I think it will be really cool exhibition. And I've
got some little projects forsome bands for like album covers
and stuff. But that's just
Steph (22:51):
oh I can definitely see your work on album covers, yeah.
Caitlin (22:56):
Oh, and I'm also like, I've been making music.
Steph (22:59):
Oh, what don't you do!?
Caitlin (23:01):
Yeah, in this last few months. I've just been really
into music. And I'm thinkingabout how I can bring together
my art, like my visual arts withmy music practice. And I have
some really cool ideas. I'm justlike, stay tuned.
Steph (23:15):
Yes. When you have the light bulb moment, you will know
Yeah. Oh, that's so good. Nice,and comforting to have the ideas
and be like no I'll get to thatwhen I get to that, when I'm
ready, when I've built thosefoundations more or
Caitlin (23:26):
yeah, definitely
Steph (23:27):
as much as you want to. And very cool to have Sol as a
mentor.
Caitlin (23:31):
Yeah, she's amazing.
Steph (23:32):
I know she's also self-taught. So very, very cool.
Yeah. And was that just one ofthe recent workshops that she
did?
Caitlin (23:39):
Yeah, that was was that last week? Yeah, it was last
week.
Steph (23:43):
honestly that recent
Caitlin (23:46):
Yeah, it was really good. And intensive.
Steph (23:49):
Hopefully she does some more of them, if they're quite
good.
Unknown (23:51):
Yeah, well I think she's got one coming up in
January and then two workshopsin June and July.
Steph (23:59):
Servicing the needs of the people!
Caitlin (24:01):
Totally
Steph (24:01):
Excellent. Thank you Sol! Wonderful. Well, I won't hassle
you to give me any more detailsabout what you're gonna do next
because I feel like you're stillcatching your breath from the
year that was. But for peoplethat want to follow along with
what you're doing where can theyfind you and keep in touch and
(24:22):
up-to-date?
Caitlin (24:22):
I'm so I've got Instagram.
Steph (24:24):
Perfect.
Caitlin (24:24):
Yeah and a website.
Steph (24:27):
Oh, good on you.
Caitlin (24:29):
Yeah. And people can sign up to my mailing list if
they want to hear about what'scoming along.
Steph (24:36):
Excellent. Well you've made it very easy. Wonderful.
Thank you for your time andwe'll see what you do next.
(25:16):
[gentle music]
[gentle music]
Steph (00:00):
Hello and welcome to the SALA Podcast. My name is Steph
(00:23):
and today I'm catching up withCaitlin Mohr, who is a self
taught artist working primarilywith oil paint, but also clay
and installation as well.Caitlin had two exhibitions in
the 2022 SALA Festival, so wejust had to get her on the
podcast and hear more about herpractice, and hopefully find out
the secret to pulling off twoshows one after the other.
(00:45):
Before we get started, I'll justacknowledge that we are meeting
on the traditional lands of theKaurna People and pay my
respects to Elders past, presentand emerging.
Hello, Caitlin.
Caitlin (00:55):
Hi, Steph.
Steph (00:56):
Thanks for having me in your lounge room
Caitlin (00:58):
Thank you for being in my lounge room.
Steph (01:01):
Now we should I want to start from the beginning,
Caitlin (01:04):
the beginning
Steph (01:05):
the beginning; how did you find your way to visual art.
Caitlin (01:09):
Um, I was really into art as a kid, just like I was
quite a quiet child. So alwayslike drawing or like making
things with sticks and leaves.And just being alone and just
like scribbling and stuff. Sothat's that's like the earliest
I can remember being into art.And then I just did it
(01:30):
throughout school and then inlike, year 11 and 12. I took it
a bit more seriously, but I wasalso really into, like science,
and English and stuff. So Inever really
Steph (01:42):
Such a spread!
Caitlin (01:43):
Such a spread. It's so hard to make decisions
sometimes. But um, yeah, so as Inever really thought of art as
like a career, or like as aserious thing in my life. It was
just something that I loved todo. So yeah,
Steph (01:58):
yeah. And it's tricky. Do you keep it as a thing that you
love to do? Or do you pursue?It's such a tricky thing isn't
it?
Caitlin (02:03):
Well, yeah. So where I am now
as I can. 'cause I went to uni,and I studied health sciences.
Steph (02:12):
You did go with the science
Caitlin (02:13):
I went with the science and I was gonna do my masters in
osteopathy.
Steph (02:16):
Wow.
Caitlin (02:17):
So after I did my undergrad, I had a year off, and
then I was gonna go do mymasters. But in that year, I was
like, 'ART', like, it was justreally calling to me. And I was
like, Oh, I think I'm gonnachange my life around and go do
that.
Steph (02:31):
wow, that's actually massive.
Caitlin (02:33):
Yeah, it was massive at the time. Now I feel like I've
redirected, so I'm used to itnow. But at the time, I was
like, yeah, it was reallyintense. But really good. And
then after that, yeah,everything started kind of
making sense for me and I feltlike it was really good
decision.
Steph (02:50):
Yeah.
Caitlin (02:51):
And art became more meaningful for me as well
Steph (02:53):
Yeah, so it sort of fell into place.
Caitlin (02:55):
Yeah, definitely. Definitely.
Steph (02:56):
So good. But you do work in the health industry though?
Caitlin (03:00):
Yeah I do!
Steph (03:00):
That's very cool. I think that's, you were saying before
that, that you can draw on someof those [experiences] - we'll
get to that.
Caitlin (03:07):
We'll get to that.
Steph (03:10):
And then, for anyone who's listening that might not
have seen your work. How wouldyou describe your work?
Caitlin (03:15):
So with fancy words
Steph (03:20):
or just non-fancy words
Caitlin (03:21):
I describe it as abstract figurative surrealism.
Steph (03:25):
Yeah. Cool.
Caitlin (03:26):
If you're thinking of like a genre,
Steph (03:28):
Yeah yeah. But give us the
Caitlin (03:30):
but so yeah, I describe it as sort of using figures and
symbolism to explore our innerworlds and our way of connecting
to our inner worlds. So yeah,that's like a lot of bodies
looking into themselves or like,weird positions or conjoined
(03:51):
bodies to kind of show likedualism or like unity or things
like that.
Steph (03:57):
Yeah, I get a lot of like, very visceral dream kind
of thing from the work.
Caitlin (04:03):
I think because I studied health. We had this one
topic where it was in the lastyear of my degree, we had this
topic where we actually workedwith cadavers - I think that's
how you say it. So likepreserved bodies, and we had to
like identify all the nerves andmuscles and stuff. And I think
that really contributed to justlike, I don't know; I feel like
(04:24):
I have a strong understanding oflike, the physical body and how
our kind of like psychologicalrelationship with it
Steph (04:32):
right, yeah,
Caitlin (04:33):
because I feel like that's influences like the my
overall style a lot
Steph (04:36):
Yeah, gosh, that's amazing.
Caitlin (04:39):
Thank you.
Steph (04:41):
I also don't know how to say cadaver
Caitlin (04:46):
Cad-ah-ver I think,
Steph (04:46):
okay, cool. You're the one that knows.
Caitlin (04:48):
I hope I know!
Unknown (04:51):
[gentle music]
Steph (05:11):
So you said that inner worlds is one of the sort of
main things that you're lookinginto. What kind of like, is that
through dreams? Or likereflection? Or how much of that
is your inner world? How much ofthat is like other people
telling you about their inner worlds?
Caitlin (05:26):
Yeah. So I feel like I've always been in touch with
my inner self. I feel like it'skind of a hard concept to
understand if you've never beenin touch with your inner self.
And if you're constantlyrelating to your existence as an
external experience. For me,it's always been very internal.
(05:47):
And yeah, that's been sincelike, a really young age. So I
think I've always just, the waythat I've thought about life,
and about things that I've gonethrough have been very much
like, okay, like, what is this?Like, where, what is this coming
from? Like, what can this teachme? When I go inside, and I see
how I can grow from this, like,how does that affect me in the
(06:11):
way that I relate to things thatI go through, and the people
that are in my life? So with myart, it's not so much that my
artwork is a reflection of myinner world, it's more of a
reflection of that experience oflooking inwards.
Steph (06:34):
Okay. And that sort of framework
Caitlin (06:37):
that kind of framework of sort of how I do that, I
guess, or,
Steph (06:41):
and maybe the language.
Caitlin (06:43):
Yeah, I feel like it's the way that I talk about that
experience, but not what I'mexperiencing.
Steph (06:50):
Yeah, no, I get that. That's great.
Caitlin (06:51):
You know, yeah. So
Steph (06:53):
it's almost like 'here is the vocabulary' of that.
Caitlin (06:58):
Yeah But I feel I feel that changing in my practice a
little bit. Like since myexhibitions that I've had this
year. I'm feeling like I'mmoving more towards more. Like,
I don't know how to describe it,but more work that is coming
from my inner world a bit morenot so much of...
Steph (07:19):
so you're daring to be a little bit more like, 'actually'
Caitlin (07:21):
yeah well, I think it's because I'm understanding it a
little bit more for myself. Soit's less of, I think my art is
sometimes a reminder to myselfas well, to like, tap into that,
because I find a lot of comfortin being introspective and being
reflective and trying to seethings from different angles. So
I think I tried to pass that onto other people. But at the same
(07:43):
time, it's like a big reminderfor me, but I think I'm
embodying that theme a bit more.So now that I'm embodying it. I
feel like my art will change.
Steph (07:54):
Yeah, I mean, and that's the whole- I love that the word
for doing art is a 'practice'.So you know, it's nicely that
you're like, 'actually, I'mstarting to pull into this
area'. Yeah, that's so cool. Andyeah, it's, I mean, it's gotta
serve yourself. Otherwise, youwouldn't be called to do it.
Caitlin (08:11):
Yeah, exactly.
Steph (08:11):
And I guess that kind of answers my next question of,
yeah, what compels you to do it?So yeah, perfect. And did you
like that introspection? Is itthrough any particular vehicle,
like, I don't know, like a sortof yoga or meditation practice,
or
Caitlin (08:25):
Yeah so through a lot of things, definitely like yoga
and meditation, and justmindfulness. And just when I'm
faced with certain challenges,like how I deal with those is a
practice for me. And each timethat I have a new challenge, I
kind of see how... I'm notalways like, 'How can I'... I'm
(08:48):
not like that neurotic,
Steph (08:49):
quizzing yourself
Caitlin (08:51):
but like, looking back on things. I'm like, Oh, I
handled that situationdifferently. And from a place
that felt more like true to mydeeper self. Yeah, so that is a
massive part of it. For me. It'sjust like, my daily life.
Steph (09:04):
Yeah. And I guess it's like a muscle.
Caitlin (09:07):
Yeah, but yoga, meditation, and like breathwork
stuff is such a massive vehiclefor that, because it kind of
keeps me in touch with the body,and the mind and bringing the
two together.
Steph (09:20):
Those relationships are so cool.
Caitlin (09:22):
Yeah, it's very powerful. Yeah, but in saying
that, so other things that do,like compel me to create work is
definitely like, I feel likemore people need a bit of that
in their lives is a bit morelike just to just kind of pause
and take a minute and justreassess what's important and
(09:43):
reassess how they arefunctioning in their little
worlds. And if they can do it,from a place that's more
peaceful or kind, or justauthentic to themselves and
kinder to themselves.
Steph (09:57):
Do you think it's a pace thing or just not having
thought... it's tricky isnt it?
Caitlin (10:03):
I think it depends on the person. I think it was like
different. I think some peopledo just maybe need to slow down.
And some people maybe do needit. Like, just actually think a
bit about stuff, you know, ya
Steph (10:13):
yeah, because if you've never been introspective, it may
not come up that like, 'oh,there's something wrong', but
when you do, it's like, 'oh'.
Caitlin (10:22):
and that's I think I've had a lot of moments where I've
had, like, whether it's through,you know, thinking about
something a lot, or like throughyoga or something. I've had a
lot of moments where I'm justlike, 'oh'.
Steph (10:33):
haha yeah, that's the lightbulb
Caitlin (10:35):
I feel like I remember what I want to do with my life,
you know, and I forget thatoften. And I'm just like, ah,
like, no shit like, this iswhat's important. Like, 'ah', so
Steph (10:45):
yeah, those moments are great.
Caitlin (10:46):
Yeah, totally. So I'm like, I feel like everyone needs
a little bit of that.
Steph (10:51):
Yeah. Is there a word for that? Apart from the light bulb?
Caitlin (10:55):
The light bulb moment, I feel like the light bulb
moment is the best one. Yeah Idon't know.
Steph (11:02):
Funnily enough it's more a visual than a word. But yeah.
Which makes sense. Well, then,maybe because I this is how you
came to my attention is throughthe two exhibitions that you had
in SALA. One of them was a twopeople. It was you and Miles?
Caitlin (11:18):
Miles Dunne, yeah
Steph (11:19):
Yeah. And that was at The Lab?
Caitlin (11:21):
Yeah.
Steph (11:22):
Tell us a little bit about that one.
Caitlin (11:24):
Um, yeah. So me and Miles have been friends for a
while, we always wanted to dosomething together. And he was
sort of doing a lot of work atThe Lab. So we kind of had a bit
of a foot in the door to dosomething there. But because I'm
a painter, and the lab is a verydigital kind of space, like a
lot of the people that comethrough, they're doing digital,
(11:44):
or like audio stuff. And I waslike, How can I enter the space?
But I had already done. So last,was it last year? Yeah. start of
last year, I created fourpaintings. And these were the
first four paintings that I hadmade after I like decided I was
going to commit to art.
Steph (12:04):
Yeah.
Caitlin (12:05):
So I wasn't really intending to put them in a show.
And then once I had chatted toMiles earlier this year, or or
maybe it was the end of lastyear, I was like, Oh, I've got
these four paintings. And theythey really did go together.
Well, like we were all talkingabout the same thing and had
like the same kind of colorscheme. Yeah, the same feeling.
(12:27):
And so it kind of fell intoplace. And he sort of
interpreted my work, and thenkind of responded to that. And
then we collaborated together inthat in the way that we would
install the exhibition and withthe audio that we made to play
over the top over the topthroughout. Yeah, yeah.
Throughout the exhibition. Socool. Yeah. And it just came
(12:48):
together really well.
Steph (12:49):
That's so nice, because it is a challenge to go 'How do
I bring my practice into thisarena without forcing
something?'
Unknown (12:57):
And because The Lab has so many events on it was it was
like a pop up exhibition thatwent throughout August. So we
had to install it, and thende-install it and then install
it and then de-install it.
Steph (13:07):
Wow what an experience!
Caitlin (13:08):
Yeah, it wasn't too bad. Yeah, it was it was fine.
And the way that we had... thesystem that we had for hanging
and like taking down the stuffworked well. But that was that
was kind of the some of theproblems that we had to solve.
How are we going to... How arewe going to make this like
really functional and safe andnot too heavy? And yeah,
Steph (13:30):
And sort of unique to that space as well
Caitlin (13:31):
Yeah.
Steph (13:32):
That's Interesting. Well, that's different, I guess then,
to the show that came straightoff after which was your first
solo exhibition?
Caitlin (13:38):
That was my first solo exhibition.
Steph (13:39):
'ah' at Collective Haunt? Please tell us about that show.
Caitlin (13:42):
So yeah, so that was like, I feel like that was my
baby. Like, I just had a baby.So, so yeah, after I had
finished those paintings thatwent into The Lab show, after
those paintings, like they... Ikind of just had this feeling
that they weren't 'it'; like Ijust feel like it wasn't... feel
(14:04):
like I hadn't hit the nail onthe head in terms of my style.
And the way that I wanted topaint and like the colors that I
used, for example. So afterthose paintings, I once just did
this little sketch on my iPad,like really brief and then I was
like, 'Oh, this is cool. Ishould turn it into a painting'.
And then I did and it wasamazing. And I was like, Oh,
(14:25):
like this is it! Yeah, and sothen I was speaking to my
mentor, Solomon Kammer, aboutthis painting and she sort of
helped me kind of figure out howI could turn the the themes in
that painting into a body ofwork. And because I have so many
ideas and so many differentinfluences, yeah, I felt very at
(14:48):
the time I was like, I don'tknow, I had so many ideas for
the exhibition. I was like, Idon't know how to bring these
together. And so Sol reallyhelped me like, kind of brew it
down to like the most importantstuff. And so then from that
first painting, the rest of themkind of grew.
Steph (15:05):
That's such a great momentum to go from that one and
distill into a series like thatmust just be so satisfying.
Unknown (15:12):
It was! It was. yeah. And it was really fun. And I
felt like it that stylereally... I felt like I had a
lot of movement in there.
Steph (15:21):
We had the tell me about the line, the thread
Caitlin (15:25):
oh the blue strand?
Steph (15:26):
Yeah. Tell me about that. So just to explain
depicted in the paintings, butthen physically existed in the
gallery space to connect most orall of the work?
Caitlin (15:37):
So yeah, each painting that was in my solo show had,
Ipainted a blue band. And sowhen I put it on the walls, I
connected it with like a ribbon.It was like velvet threads,
which extended from the lines inthe painting. So it kind of made
it look like
Steph (15:54):
seamless
Caitlin (15:55):
Yeah, the line went like through the paintings, and
then up the walls, and then likeback under. One of the
superficial reasons that I didthat was because I like to, I
wanted to fill the space a bitmore, I didn't want it to just
be paintings on white walls, Iwanted it to have a bit more of
like an immersiveness to it; Iwanted people to kind of feel
(16:17):
within the walls a little bit.But then the real meaning was,
because so that exhibition wascalled an introspective journey.
And each painting was like anexploration of a way of being
introspective based on my ownexperiences. So for example,
(16:41):
there was a painting that waslike someone meditating. And
there was lots going on around.And for me meditating is a, it
allows me to be introspective.So I wanted to, through
introspection, I find, Iremember that everything is
connected in so many ways. Andyeah, just even the way that
(17:06):
life unfolds and like goodthings that happen or bad things
like I feel like they kind ofall lead to certain places. So I
feel like this is continuous,just like changing nature in the
world, and within ourselves. AndI wanted to just a really simple
way to just express that. Yeah.And so I just thought, I'll just
connect all the paintingsbecause yeah, each thing is
(17:27):
connected. Yeah. And what I'msaying so,
Steph (17:30):
and I guess if you're talking about those different
ways of being introspective,they're different inroads to one
experience.
Caitlin (17:37):
Yeah. 100%
Steph (17:39):
Yeah that is very cool. Yeah. Well, it was very, very
good.
Caitlin (17:42):
Yeah. Thank you. I loved it.
[gentle music]
Steph (18:05):
And did you have like, what was the response from... or
did you have a favorite responsefrom people seeing that show?
Caitlin (18:11):
Yeah, um, well, I think with the opening night, for that
exhibition, I had like a reallygood turnout. And Collective
Haunt's not a massive gallery.So it filled out really quick
and it just made me reallychuffed. I was like, 'oh, yay;
people are seeing my art!' And Ihad just been working on it for
so long, and putting so muchenergy into it, and not sharing
(18:34):
too much, so that it kind ofteased people to come along. And
then like just finally beingable to let people see what had
been going on for me for solong, was really good. And with
each of the paintings, I had alittle, like a little bit of
text that was on the floor beloweach painting that was
Steph (18:53):
oh actually on the ground?
Caitlin (18:54):
Yeah. So it was, like really poetic. And just like a
simple way of just kind of tyingtogether the painting. And I
think that was because I feellike I've had a lot of responses
to my work, where they're like,'uh, what's that?' 'What's going
on?' You know, and I'm justlike, that's fine. I don't
expect people to just be like,'Oh, I understand'.
Steph (19:15):
Inherently
Caitlin (19:16):
Yeah. But I wanted to just have like little prompts
just so people could kind of seewhat my angle was with the
painting. And there was this onepainting that I did, which was
based on myself. It was like twoof me connected like holding
myself. And it was kind ofexpressing the duality that you
can feel with yourself, likebeing in one place, but then
(19:38):
feeling like you're not whereyou need to be and like there's
this kind of separateness andwith this painting, I just
wanted to kind of bring thattogether and like, remind myself
and people that like you need toaccept all of yourself. Sounds a
little bit, you know, 'eh', butlike it was that was one of just
the main themes and I had a lotof people come up to me and be
like, oh, like I reallyresonated with that painting
Steph (20:00):
Oh, that's so good
Caitlin (20:01):
and I was like *exhale* yay. Like, I feel like those
little moments where people werejust like, oh, like, yeah, that
was I felt that you know it kindof it just like, that's why I do
I did it, you know, like I waskind of wanting, not wanting but
that was my intention was tomake people feel reminded of
their inner strength or whateverit be.
Steph (20:23):
And touch base with that. Yeah. And I mean it's funny
because you say, Oh, this soundsso silly, but it's the painting
that had the most connection. Soit's like, well, some things you
can't say with words, you say itvisually. Perfect.
Caitlin (20:37):
Yeah. So that was really good.
Steph (20:39):
That is good. I'll have to put that particular painting
in the show notes.
Caitlin (20:43):
Yeah, for sure.
Steph (20:45):
And what I mean, not to rush you, because you've just
done two shows, which is a featin itself. And I'm glad you've
had a little bit of a rest time.Because that's a lot and a lot
of a changing pace to have suchan intensive of making and then
have it all out in the world andbe like, Oh, what do I do now?
But do you have next steps orfuture goals in your practice?
(21:09):
You know, not that they have tobe right now. But
Caitlin (21:12):
Yeah. I definitely want to do more exhibitions. I think
I want to do bigger paintingsmaybe.
Steph (21:20):
Nice.
Caitlin (21:20):
Just a little bit. Maybe? I don't know, maybe not.
I definitely have things that Ineed to work on, just in terms
of actual painting andtechnique. And I just did a
workshop with Sol, SolomonKammer, which just reminded me
how much like; I know that I canpaint good, but there's also
because I'm self taught. I'mlike, I cut a lot of corners.
(21:43):
And I know that I could taketime to like, learn things a
little bit more and finessethings a little bit more. So at
the moment, I'm really focusingon doing that.
Steph (21:51):
Yeah, that sort of development.
Caitlin (21:52):
Yeah. And then I feel like once I kind of down pack...
down pack? that a little bit,
Steph (21:58):
get that down pat, I think
Caitlin (21:59):
Yeah. Then I think I know what I want to paint next,
because I have some really bigideas, but I don't feel like I'm
ready to tackle them just yet.
Steph (22:11):
Well, that's a good position to be in.
Caitlin (22:13):
Yeah, but I definitely am wanting to do some more
exhibitions. I've got a groupshow at Floating Goose in May
Steph (22:20):
excellent
Caitlin (22:20):
on topic of menstruation.
Steph (22:23):
I love that,
Caitlin (22:23):
which is really cool, because I've been really getting
into like learning about thewomb and like, the body
Steph (22:29):
all that interest in the body
Caitlin (22:30):
Yeah, so I think that's gonna be really nice.
Steph (22:33):
How many people do know in that show? Roughly?
Caitlin (22:35):
I'm actually not too sure.
Steph (22:37):
Okay. Well, we will stay tuned.
Caitlin (22:38):
Yeah, but it's in May.
Steph (22:40):
Yeah at Floating Goose.
Caitlin (22:42):
And I think it will be really cool exhibition. And I've
got some little projects forsome bands for like album covers
and stuff. But that's just
Steph (22:51):
oh I can definitely see your work on album covers, yeah.
Caitlin (22:56):
Oh, and I'm also like, I've been making music.
Steph (22:59):
Oh, what don't you do!?
Caitlin (23:01):
Yeah, in this last few months. I've just been really
into music. And I'm thinkingabout how I can bring together
my art, like my visual arts withmy music practice. And I have
some really cool ideas. I'm justlike, stay tuned.
Steph (23:15):
Yes. When you have the light bulb moment, you will know
Yeah. Oh, that's so good. Nice,and comforting to have the ideas
and be like no I'll get to thatwhen I get to that, when I'm
ready, when I've built thosefoundations more or
Caitlin (23:26):
yeah, definitely
Steph (23:27):
as much as you want to. And very cool to have Sol as a
mentor.
Caitlin (23:31):
Yeah, she's amazing.
Steph (23:32):
I know she's also self-taught. So very, very cool.
Yeah. And was that just one ofthe recent workshops that she
did?
Caitlin (23:39):
Yeah, that was was that last week? Yeah, it was last
week.
Steph (23:43):
honestly that recent
Caitlin (23:46):
Yeah, it was really good. And intensive.
Steph (23:49):
Hopefully she does some more of them, if they're quite
good.
Unknown (23:51):
Yeah, well I think she's got one coming up in
January and then two workshopsin June and July.
Steph (23:59):
Servicing the needs of the people!
Caitlin (24:01):
Totally
Steph (24:01):
Excellent. Thank you Sol! Wonderful. Well, I won't hassle
you to give me any more detailsabout what you're gonna do next
because I feel like you're stillcatching your breath from the
year that was. But for peoplethat want to follow along with
what you're doing where can theyfind you and keep in touch and
(24:22):
up-to-date?
Caitlin (24:22):
I'm so I've got Instagram.
Steph (24:24):
Perfect.
Caitlin (24:24):
Yeah and a website.
Steph (24:27):
Oh, good on you.
Caitlin (24:29):
Yeah. And people can sign up to my mailing list if
they want to hear about what'scoming along.
Steph (24:36):
Excellent. Well you've made it very easy. Wonderful.
Thank you for your time andwe'll see what you do next.
(25:16):
[gentle music]
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.