August 29, 2023 • 25 mins
In this episode, Steph catches up with artist Monika Morgenstern. They chat about the overarching theme of mysticism in her work, and what kind of materials she uses to explore something so intangible. They trace spiritual moments across her life, from childhood awe at Europe’s cathedrals, to the natural splendour of Lake Tyrrell in Australia.
- Monika.Morgenstern.com/biography
- Adelaide Central School of Art
- ArtsSA fellowship / Arts & Culture Grants Program
- Erni Tinesz (glass artist)
- Numinous encounter
- Wordless Silence at Barossa Regional Gallery, Mon-Sun 11am-4pm, 26 July – 2 October 2023.
- Prima materia [wikipedia]
- Jerome Lyons / Cheese Factory Studio Gallery, Meadows SA
- Strathalbyn, South Australia
- Sea Lake, Victoria
- Masonic lodge
- THRFG - Creative Health Art Prize 2023
- @MonikaMorgensternArt
- MonikaMorgenstern.com
- Monika on Facebook & YouTube
- Monika's work on Shop SALA
Music: Dark Water by Xylo-Ziko
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Steph (00:14):
Hello and welcome to the SALA podcast. I have the
pleasure of talking with visualartist Monika Morgenstern today.
We're coming to you from ameeting room in the SALA office,
but I feel that our conversationis going to span quite a big
chunk of South Australia andpossibly beyond. Before we get
started, I just want toacknowledge the Kaurna People as
(00:36):
the Traditional Owners of theland that we're meeting on right
now, and pay respects to Elderspast, present, and emerging.
Monika, thanks for making thetrip down.
Monika (00:46):
Thanks for having me.
Steph (00:47):
So exciting. I don't know where to start. You've got so
much going on. I think you'revery busy generally showing and
doing things all the time. Butum, I guess we should start
where it's logical to start. Ithink maybe if you could tell us
how you found your way to visualart, that would be great.
Monika (01:07):
Hi, Steph. Well, it's actually been a complicated
road. For me, my grandmotherreally encouraged me when I was
a kid. And at school, art wasalways my favorite subject, and
where I really excelled. But Ihad no... in my family, there
was no artists, I didn't knowany artists. I'm actually from a
(01:27):
really small town in Germany,from the country. And there was
never really a vision of what anartist might be, or that there
even is such a thing as aprofessional artist, you know.
So it took me a long time tofind my way from Dattenfeld in
Germany to the Central School ofArt in Adelaide.
Steph (01:48):
What a trip!
Monika (01:50):
It's a long winding road in between. But anyway, I did my
honours year in 2014. So yeah,that's me.
Steph (01:58):
and here you are, yeah.
Monika (01:59):
Here I am, yeah.
Steph (02:00):
I do think there's probably a lot compressed there
Monika (02:03):
There is a lot compressed.
Steph (02:05):
When you got here, you know, when you started at the
school, did you have any kind ofguiding material?
Monika (02:14):
I was looking for somewhere to learn how to draw.
And when I came to Australia, Ilived in Melbourne for a very
long time. And then, you know,again, big journey to country
Victoria and then to SouthAustralia. And everyone was
(02:36):
talking about the Central Schoolof Art. And it was just a
fantastic school, loved it lovedthe teachers loved everything I
learned. I just it was afantastic experience for me.
Yeah. And as it turns out, Inever actually ended up doing a
drawing and painting as such. Imean, I still do a bit but it
(03:00):
just gave me the tools to makechoices, really.
Steph (03:04):
Yeah. No, it's nice to not have it predefined and all
laid out in advance. Fantastic.And I guess then we should
probably talk about what yourwork looks like now then if it's
not so much drawing?
Monika (03:17):
Yes. Well, my work is very experimental. It's I do a
lot of material research. AndI've been very fortunate to be
given an Arts SA fellowship thisyear, so material research it is
at the moment. And mainly Iresearch colour, movement and
(03:39):
light. And I just experimentwith projections, digital
prints, and sometimes text tocreate experiences, really, so
that the viewer looks at anartwork and has a visual
(04:00):
experience of light and colourand movement in some way.
Steph (04:05):
I do get the impression that the experience is more the
emphasis than the object? Isthat kind of fair to say?
Monika (04:11):
Yes, well, I suppose it goes hand in hand. But I do love
it when people come up to me andsay the work looks mystical. And
a lot of people do without evenknowing my work. So that is
really the key that I'm sort ofon the right track with what I
want to do. But mainly I workwith projections and digital
(04:39):
prints glass. I did a mentorshipwith a glass artist from the
Adelaide Hills, Erni Tinesz,he's a flat glass artist, does a
lot of leadlight work and I dida mentorship with him for a few
months and just looked at glass;etching glass, and how glass
(05:02):
reflects light, and how I canuse it in layering. So yeah, and
at the moment, I'm into metal.I'm looking at aluminium,
etching aluminium, looking atperspex and reflected surfaces.
So a bit of everything, youknow, but at the end of the day,
(05:25):
my work is quite... some of thework is quite minimalist. So
there's a lot of experimenting,but when something works, and I
really try to pare it down andback again,
Steph (05:37):
yeah, none of it seems overdone. It's considered and
yeah, very much fits witheverything that you're saying. I
know, you mentioned the sort ofmysterious, mystic kind of
direction; what actually doesinspire the work and what themes
are you exploring?
Monika (05:54):
Well, my tagline is an encounter with the numinous or a
numinous encounter. And anuminous encounter is basically
a an encounter with the mysticalor with the spiritual, or
something that you can't quiteput into words. Yeah, and it's
just a beautiful word it, youknow, it rhymes with luminous
(06:15):
and it just gives you that ideaof lightness and light and
colour and all that that my workis about. So that's a word I use
quite a bit. But basically, I'mreally interested in mysticism,
spiritual experiences,drug-induced mystical
experiences -which a lot ofpeople have, near death
(06:36):
experiences, deja-vu, and I'malso very interested in cults
and cult behavior, and anythingto do with the other-worldly.
And I interview people abouttheir experiences, I talked to
them. And all that sort of feedsinto my research and into the
work that I do.
Steph (06:55):
That's really great. And what a privilege to be trusted
with those experiences.
Monika (06:59):
Yes, very much so, and they are so interesting. And we
all have them. Yeah. You know?Whether it's you're having a
dream, premonitions, and, youknow, I mean, there's so much so
many experiences out there thatwe cannot explain, but a lot of
people do have, you know, sothat's what I'm really
(07:21):
interested in and doing workaround that.
Steph (07:23):
Yeah. Lovely to lean into that. And especially the kind of
thing where people go, 'Oh, no,actually, yes. I've just been
ignoring that, but these thingshave happened'.
Monika (07:31):
Yes, that's right.
Steph (07:32):
And what a challenge to try and articulate artistically,
the things that cannot bearticulated.
Monika (07:38):
It is! That's right, it is. It's not an easy subject to
tackle. And, you know, becauseyou don't want to alienate
audiences. You don't want toalienate audiences that are
completely non-religious. Andyou don't want to alienate
people who have a very profoundreligious belief, either, you
(08:00):
know, so it's a very, very fineline that I'm treading with my
work.
Steph (08:07):
Yeah, and I'm sure on the flip side of that
treat someone else's story whenyou're the one articulating it?
So yes, it would be a verydelicate line to tread. But
therein lies the beautifulchallenge, doesn't it?
Monika (08:20):
That's right.
Steph (08:22):
And what -if you don't mind me prodding a little more-
what drives you to explore thosethemes? You know, have you had
those experiences yourself andbeen driven by those?
Monika (08:33):
Like most people, I've had experiences, but mostly in
nature, actually. But to behonest, I'm not really quite
sure why I'm so interested inthe subject matter, because my
family was very, veryanti-religious; they thought it
(08:53):
created a lot of problems. Andbut I, I think, nature I've had
mystical experiences in nature,but also in Germany, in primary
school, or actually secondaryschool as well. You sort of get
funneled into the Catholic orthe Protestant sort of stream.
(09:17):
And my family was Catholic,through my mother's side. And I
wasn't really interested inreligious education, and my
grandmother always said, 'Look,you know, don't take it too
serious'. But when you go intothe cathedrals in Europe, I
mean, you cannot help but feelthat it is a sacred, sacred
(09:37):
space. You know, it is just soawe inspiring. And even when I
go back to visit my family inGermany, I often go and have a
look at the churches as a lot oftourists do. And as soon as you
walk in to one of thoseCathedrals, you just slow down,
you go quiet, and you really Ihave an awe inspiring, you know,
Steph (10:04):
you suddenly feel very small in that space
Monika (10:06):
That's right. So it does feel like a sacred space. Yeah.
And, yeah so I think, havinggrown up with that... we had a
small cathedral where I grew up,but it was a cathedral
nevertheless. And you know, Ithink it impressed itself on me
when I was a kid. Yeah. And theplay of light with the
(10:30):
leadlight, the music, the wholeshebang, you know?
Steph (10:36):
Impressive it is.
Monika (10:37):
Yeah, it's very impressive. And I think
that's...well I would imaginethat's where my interest comes
from.
Steph (10:43):
Yeah.
Now you've got a really big show at the Barossa Regional
Gallery, as we speak, calledWordless Silence. Can you please
(11:08):
tell us about that? A bit ofwhat it sort of looks like, and
layout; I imagine there's morethan one type of medium and
material going on. So pleasetell us.
Monika (11:18):
First of all, I want to thank Rowena Sloane and Cara
Boehm who have actually given methe opportunity to show there.
Because when I applied for theshow, that was about two years
ago, and for them to take it onwith my subject with the subject
matter that I do deal with, youknow, it's not an easy thing,
(11:41):
you know. And so, thanks goes tothem and to the Barossa Council,
for giving me that space forSALA. So Well, there's two
projections in the show, andabout 8 two dimensional pieces.
(12:04):
The projections... in the frontis a smaller projection, and in
the backroom is the largerprojection called Prima Materia.
So prima materia is the is thematerial out of which everything
flows out of which everythingcomes, you know. So for that
work, I got a nearly two metersteel ring cut. And onto that
(12:32):
steel ring,
Steph (12:33):
I'm looking at it now
Monika (12:33):
I projected the projection, and the projection
is actually a, I videotaped inkon glass.
Steph (12:46):
oh!
Monika (12:47):
And then I put that through, you know, Premiere Pro,
and all this software toactually make the video that it
is. And the reason I'm using theink in a lot of my work that
actually comes from the idea ofectoplasm. In the 1920s, people
(13:09):
used to sit around seances, anda medium would exude ectoplasm,
which is like a spiritualsubstance, and then the dead or
the ghosts or whoever; spiritswould use this material to
communicate with you. So Iresearched that subject matter
(13:30):
quite a bit. And I just reallyloved the idea of someone
exuding this vapor. So hence theuse of inks. So, for this work,
I also engaged Jerome Lyons whois a musician and instrument
maker from Meadows
Steph (13:49):
oh wonderful
Monika (13:49):
and he did the audio for the work. And he used he's got a
fantastic library of justsounds; of the weather, of wind,
of breath, of fire... So we usedall that in the video work to
create this idea of that this isthis creative, generative
(14:12):
substance that's sort of comingout of this space. It's a
beautiful work if you if youhave a chance go and have a
look.
Steph (14:22):
Yes, absolutely. And I think it's fair to say you'd
need to be undistracted andready to put a bit of time into
Monika (14:29):
and that's a beautiful thing about the Barossa Gallery.
So it's two spaces (14:31):
the front is a bright light white space and
the backspace is a dark sort ofintimate space. So as you walk
through, you're going throughtwo different sort of vibes.
Steph (14:47):
Yeah, and what a great space to be able to work within.
That's fantastic.
Monika (14:52):
And then, for the 2d pieces in the front, I've used
mirror, aluminium and perspex tocreate sort of pieces that play
with light and reflection. Andthen in the back section with
the video work, I've got fourpieces, ink on aluminium, etched
(15:15):
aluminium. So again, it'sharking back to this idea of the
ectoplasm. And that something istrying to communicate with you.
Steph (15:28):
I like that word generatively that you've used.
You know, that there's thispotential in this sort of almost
unseen intangible thing, butit's there, you know it's there.
Now, you're exhibiting at the Barossa Regional Gallery,
(15:52):
and you also do live regionallyin a different area, and, as
we've heard, have traveled andlived in many different places.
I know that your childhood,where you were living there, has
an influence that you've touchedon, but what about where you
live now? Does that have anyinfluence on your work?
Monika (16:11):
Well, Australia certainly has. At the moment, I
live in Strathalbyn onNgarrindjeri Land, and it's
beautiful there and I love it.And it's the first time in all
these years of moving around andtraveling that I feel like I've
planted some roots. But before Icame here, I actually lived at
(16:32):
Sea Lake in a Masonic lodge forabout four or five years. And
Sea Lake is the area of theBoorong People, and the wrong
people were actually stargazers.So there's quite a bit of lore
around Lake Terrell and theBoorong People. Anyway, I lived
in Sea Lake, which is only 10minutes from Lake Tyrrell. It's
(16:55):
one of the biggest salt lakes inthat region. 270 square
kilometers, I think. And Ithat's where I started to paint,
sort of the colours of thesunsets and the moon rise. Lake
Tyrrell has actually been anincredible influence on my art,
(17:17):
and it still is, because theMallee is very, very flat. And
you've got that pink salt lakein summer, with this sliver of a
horizon. And that blue sky. Andwhen the sun sets and the moon
rises, it is an incredibleexperience. And my partner and
(17:40):
I, we used to just walk out onthe Salt Lake with a blanket
with a glass of wine and watchthe sunset and the moonrise. And
the colours that you just see...it's just incredible. And in
winter, because it is a saltlake, nothing really lives in
there that sort of moves ordisturbs the water. In winter,
(18:04):
if you go out at a moonless ornew moon, and you walk out onto
the water, you get a completereflection of the sky.
Steph (18:12):
oh wow
Monika (18:12):
So you feel like you're in this dome surrounded by
stars. It is really, reallyincredible. I think tourism has
actually found it, and they'venow put viewing platforms on it.
But anyway, when I used to gothere, it was completely
(18:32):
undisturbed and was the mostincredible place to be. And
that's where I actually startedto paint. Mind you the
paintings, they were justreally... bad.
Steph (18:43):
[both laugh]
Monika (18:45):
Bad paintings! That's what I knew I needed to go to
art school. But anyway, youknow, that creative force just
came through me and I justneeded to paint it. And it was
all about light, colour, theethereal, and yeah, the mystical
encounter that I used to haveout there.
Steph (19:06):
Yeah, and surely it's kind of nice to not be able to
capture it in a way that youwere satisfied with straight
away, that it really was achallenge to try... I think
there's something satisfying inthat surely.
Monika (19:17):
Yes, yes. And then of course, the building, you know,
it was a Masonic Lodge, it was asquare building. And most of my
work is square, I think that'sgot a lot to do with it and the
Freemasons, they really have astrong directional sense of the
building and how they positionit. So the south, north, east
(19:38):
and west, so they really oftentalk about the forces of the
different directions. And again,it's like a cathedral - you
walked into the Masonic Lodgeand you knew it was a sacred
space. You know, so this again,this really awe-inspiring feel,
you know, but mind you like thebuilding we are in here, they
(20:01):
are so cold in winter. I justcouldn't get it warm. It was a
real challenge to live there inwinter. But anyway, I lived
there for about five years. Andthen we moved to Castlemaine and
Bendigo. And then eventually wecame to South Australia.
Steph (20:18):
Wow, what a journey.
Monika (20:19):
Yes.
Steph (20:20):
Gosh. And yeah, sounds like you've just collected and
collected experiences.
Monika (20:25):
Yes. Yeah, very much so
Steph (20:27):
[it's] lovely that they were profound enough to have an
enduring impact.
Monika (20:30):
Oh they have, and the colours that I sort of work with
in my work have a lot to dowith, you know, the natural
spectacle of that place. Becauseit was so uninterrupted. There
were no trees, there were nomozzies, there were no flies,
there was nothing. It was justcolour and space, you know, and
(20:53):
that is something as a European,you just don't experienced
anywhere else.
Steph (20:57):
Yeah, what a thing to behold, gosh.
Monika (21:00):
yeah, it was beautiful,
Steph (21:02):
amazing.
This is one of my favorite questions
a favorite memory of someoneinteracting with your work or
(21:24):
experiencing it?
Monika (21:26):
Um, actually, people always come up to me after I
have had an exhibition, andespecially after an artist talk.
And usually I like to do artiststalks rather than openings,
where someone opens for you, Iprefer an artist talk and
actually talk about my work. Anda lot of people come up to me
(21:49):
afterwards. And whether thereare older people who've had
partners pass away who feel likethey're still communicating with
them, to younger people who havehad an LSD trip or MDMA trip,
whatever it is, and had amystical experience. And, you
(22:11):
know, the similarities are justso incredible. So it seems to be
a naturally occurring thing,that we do have these
experiences. And a lot of peoplecome up to me and talk about it.
And I find it incrediblyinteresting, and honored that
(22:33):
they feel they can talk to meabout it. And, without using
their direct experiences, but itall feeds into my work. And it
also supports me in my beliefthat it is important work.
Steph (22:51):
Yeah, yep.
Monika (22:53):
It is work that... Yeah. contemporary society is yearning
for something more than work,and cash, and interest rates,
and the economy, and all that.
Steph (23:09):
Yeah, no it sounds like it resonates with people in a
way that may also surprise them
Monika (23:13):
and you have a look at, you go and have a look at shows
on Netflix or podcasts. I mean,the mystical and spiritual is
just comes up more and moreoften in the creative
industries, whatever that maybe. So I think, yeah, I think
it's an important andinteresting subject matter.
(23:35):
Yeah.
Steph (23:35):
Yeah, evidently. Oh that's fantastic. And to wrap
things up, because I don't wantto give too much away, I think
we all need to get down and seethe work. But in the interim,
and beyond, where can we followalong with your practice?
Monika (23:49):
Well, I've been shortlisted for the Creative
Health Award, like yourself.
Steph (23:57):
So we can all get down to that.
Monika (23:59):
We'll meet again
Steph (24:00):
Great!
Monika (24:01):
And that will be on from the 1st to the 22nd of
September. So go and have a lookat that. And then of course, my
Instagram and website and I'vealso got some smaller pieces,
experimental pieces on the SALAshop website.
Steph (24:17):
Fantastic. You're everywhere! I love it. Oh, well
thank you so much, and welldone. Thank you for coming down.
Monika (24:27):
Thank you, Steph. And thanks for inviting me to have a
talk to you.
Hello and welcome to the SALA podcast. I have the
pleasure of talking with visualartist Monika Morgenstern today.
We're coming to you from ameeting room in the SALA office,
but I feel that our conversationis going to span quite a big
chunk of South Australia andpossibly beyond. Before we get
started, I just want toacknowledge the Kaurna People as
(00:36):
the Traditional Owners of theland that we're meeting on right
now, and pay respects to Elderspast, present, and emerging.
Monika, thanks for making thetrip down.
Monika (00:46):
Thanks for having me.
Steph (00:47):
So exciting. I don't know where to start. You've got so
much going on. I think you'revery busy generally showing and
doing things all the time. Butum, I guess we should start
where it's logical to start. Ithink maybe if you could tell us
how you found your way to visualart, that would be great.
Monika (01:07):
Hi, Steph. Well, it's actually been a complicated
road. For me, my grandmotherreally encouraged me when I was
a kid. And at school, art wasalways my favorite subject, and
where I really excelled. But Ihad no... in my family, there
was no artists, I didn't knowany artists. I'm actually from a
(01:27):
really small town in Germany,from the country. And there was
never really a vision of what anartist might be, or that there
even is such a thing as aprofessional artist, you know.
So it took me a long time tofind my way from Dattenfeld in
Germany to the Central School ofArt in Adelaide.
Steph (01:48):
What a trip!
Monika (01:50):
It's a long winding road in between. But anyway, I did my
honours year in 2014. So yeah,that's me.
Steph (01:58):
and here you are, yeah.
Monika (01:59):
Here I am, yeah.
Steph (02:00):
I do think there's probably a lot compressed there
Monika (02:03):
There is a lot compressed.
Steph (02:05):
When you got here, you know, when you started at the
school, did you have any kind ofguiding material?
Monika (02:14):
I was looking for somewhere to learn how to draw.
And when I came to Australia, Ilived in Melbourne for a very
long time. And then, you know,again, big journey to country
Victoria and then to SouthAustralia. And everyone was
(02:36):
talking about the Central Schoolof Art. And it was just a
fantastic school, loved it lovedthe teachers loved everything I
learned. I just it was afantastic experience for me.
Yeah. And as it turns out, Inever actually ended up doing a
drawing and painting as such. Imean, I still do a bit but it
(03:00):
just gave me the tools to makechoices, really.
Steph (03:04):
Yeah. No, it's nice to not have it predefined and all
laid out in advance. Fantastic.And I guess then we should
probably talk about what yourwork looks like now then if it's
not so much drawing?
Monika (03:17):
Yes. Well, my work is very experimental. It's I do a
lot of material research. AndI've been very fortunate to be
given an Arts SA fellowship thisyear, so material research it is
at the moment. And mainly Iresearch colour, movement and
(03:39):
light. And I just experimentwith projections, digital
prints, and sometimes text tocreate experiences, really, so
that the viewer looks at anartwork and has a visual
(04:00):
experience of light and colourand movement in some way.
Steph (04:05):
I do get the impression that the experience is more the
emphasis than the object? Isthat kind of fair to say?
Monika (04:11):
Yes, well, I suppose it goes hand in hand. But I do love
it when people come up to me andsay the work looks mystical. And
a lot of people do without evenknowing my work. So that is
really the key that I'm sort ofon the right track with what I
want to do. But mainly I workwith projections and digital
(04:39):
prints glass. I did a mentorshipwith a glass artist from the
Adelaide Hills, Erni Tinesz,he's a flat glass artist, does a
lot of leadlight work and I dida mentorship with him for a few
months and just looked at glass;etching glass, and how glass
(05:02):
reflects light, and how I canuse it in layering. So yeah, and
at the moment, I'm into metal.I'm looking at aluminium,
etching aluminium, looking atperspex and reflected surfaces.
So a bit of everything, youknow, but at the end of the day,
(05:25):
my work is quite... some of thework is quite minimalist. So
there's a lot of experimenting,but when something works, and I
really try to pare it down andback again,
Steph (05:37):
yeah, none of it seems overdone. It's considered and
yeah, very much fits witheverything that you're saying. I
know, you mentioned the sort ofmysterious, mystic kind of
direction; what actually doesinspire the work and what themes
are you exploring?
Monika (05:54):
Well, my tagline is an encounter with the numinous or a
numinous encounter. And anuminous encounter is basically
a an encounter with the mysticalor with the spiritual, or
something that you can't quiteput into words. Yeah, and it's
just a beautiful word it, youknow, it rhymes with luminous
(06:15):
and it just gives you that ideaof lightness and light and
colour and all that that my workis about. So that's a word I use
quite a bit. But basically, I'mreally interested in mysticism,
spiritual experiences,drug-induced mystical
experiences -which a lot ofpeople have, near death
(06:36):
experiences, deja-vu, and I'malso very interested in cults
and cult behavior, and anythingto do with the other-worldly.
And I interview people abouttheir experiences, I talked to
them. And all that sort of feedsinto my research and into the
work that I do.
Steph (06:55):
That's really great. And what a privilege to be trusted
with those experiences.
Monika (06:59):
Yes, very much so, and they are so interesting. And we
all have them. Yeah. You know?Whether it's you're having a
dream, premonitions, and, youknow, I mean, there's so much so
many experiences out there thatwe cannot explain, but a lot of
people do have, you know, sothat's what I'm really
(07:21):
interested in and doing workaround that.
Steph (07:23):
Yeah. Lovely to lean into that. And especially the kind of
thing where people go, 'Oh, no,actually, yes. I've just been
ignoring that, but these thingshave happened'.
Monika (07:31):
Yes, that's right.
Steph (07:32):
And what a challenge to try and articulate artistically,
the things that cannot bearticulated.
Monika (07:38):
It is! That's right, it is. It's not an easy subject to
tackle. And, you know, becauseyou don't want to alienate
audiences. You don't want toalienate audiences that are
completely non-religious. Andyou don't want to alienate
people who have a very profoundreligious belief, either, you
(08:00):
know, so it's a very, very fineline that I'm treading with my
work.
Steph (08:07):
Yeah, and I'm sure on the flip side of that
treat someone else's story whenyou're the one articulating it?
So yes, it would be a verydelicate line to tread. But
therein lies the beautifulchallenge, doesn't it?
Monika (08:20):
That's right.
Steph (08:22):
And what -if you don't mind me prodding a little more-
what drives you to explore thosethemes? You know, have you had
those experiences yourself andbeen driven by those?
Monika (08:33):
Like most people, I've had experiences, but mostly in
nature, actually. But to behonest, I'm not really quite
sure why I'm so interested inthe subject matter, because my
family was very, veryanti-religious; they thought it
(08:53):
created a lot of problems. Andbut I, I think, nature I've had
mystical experiences in nature,but also in Germany, in primary
school, or actually secondaryschool as well. You sort of get
funneled into the Catholic orthe Protestant sort of stream.
(09:17):
And my family was Catholic,through my mother's side. And I
wasn't really interested inreligious education, and my
grandmother always said, 'Look,you know, don't take it too
serious'. But when you go intothe cathedrals in Europe, I
mean, you cannot help but feelthat it is a sacred, sacred
(09:37):
space. You know, it is just soawe inspiring. And even when I
go back to visit my family inGermany, I often go and have a
look at the churches as a lot oftourists do. And as soon as you
walk in to one of thoseCathedrals, you just slow down,
you go quiet, and you really Ihave an awe inspiring, you know,
Steph (10:04):
you suddenly feel very small in that space
Monika (10:06):
That's right. So it does feel like a sacred space. Yeah.
And, yeah so I think, havinggrown up with that... we had a
small cathedral where I grew up,but it was a cathedral
nevertheless. And you know, Ithink it impressed itself on me
when I was a kid. Yeah. And theplay of light with the
(10:30):
leadlight, the music, the wholeshebang, you know?
Steph (10:36):
Impressive it is.
Monika (10:37):
Yeah, it's very impressive. And I think
that's...well I would imaginethat's where my interest comes
from.
Steph (10:43):
Yeah.
Now you've got a really big show at the Barossa Regional
Gallery, as we speak, calledWordless Silence. Can you please
(11:08):
tell us about that? A bit ofwhat it sort of looks like, and
layout; I imagine there's morethan one type of medium and
material going on. So pleasetell us.
Monika (11:18):
First of all, I want to thank Rowena Sloane and Cara
Boehm who have actually given methe opportunity to show there.
Because when I applied for theshow, that was about two years
ago, and for them to take it onwith my subject with the subject
matter that I do deal with, youknow, it's not an easy thing,
(11:41):
you know. And so, thanks goes tothem and to the Barossa Council,
for giving me that space forSALA. So Well, there's two
projections in the show, andabout 8 two dimensional pieces.
(12:04):
The projections... in the frontis a smaller projection, and in
the backroom is the largerprojection called Prima Materia.
So prima materia is the is thematerial out of which everything
flows out of which everythingcomes, you know. So for that
work, I got a nearly two metersteel ring cut. And onto that
(12:32):
steel ring,
Steph (12:33):
I'm looking at it now
Monika (12:33):
I projected the projection, and the projection
is actually a, I videotaped inkon glass.
Steph (12:46):
oh!
Monika (12:47):
And then I put that through, you know, Premiere Pro,
and all this software toactually make the video that it
is. And the reason I'm using theink in a lot of my work that
actually comes from the idea ofectoplasm. In the 1920s, people
(13:09):
used to sit around seances, anda medium would exude ectoplasm,
which is like a spiritualsubstance, and then the dead or
the ghosts or whoever; spiritswould use this material to
communicate with you. So Iresearched that subject matter
(13:30):
quite a bit. And I just reallyloved the idea of someone
exuding this vapor. So hence theuse of inks. So, for this work,
I also engaged Jerome Lyons whois a musician and instrument
maker from Meadows
Steph (13:49):
oh wonderful
Monika (13:49):
and he did the audio for the work. And he used he's got a
fantastic library of justsounds; of the weather, of wind,
of breath, of fire... So we usedall that in the video work to
create this idea of that this isthis creative, generative
(14:12):
substance that's sort of comingout of this space. It's a
beautiful work if you if youhave a chance go and have a
look.
Steph (14:22):
Yes, absolutely. And I think it's fair to say you'd
need to be undistracted andready to put a bit of time into
Monika (14:29):
and that's a beautiful thing about the Barossa Gallery.
So it's two spaces (14:31):
the front is a bright light white space and
the backspace is a dark sort ofintimate space. So as you walk
through, you're going throughtwo different sort of vibes.
Steph (14:47):
Yeah, and what a great space to be able to work within.
That's fantastic.
Monika (14:52):
And then, for the 2d pieces in the front, I've used
mirror, aluminium and perspex tocreate sort of pieces that play
with light and reflection. Andthen in the back section with
the video work, I've got fourpieces, ink on aluminium, etched
(15:15):
aluminium. So again, it'sharking back to this idea of the
ectoplasm. And that something istrying to communicate with you.
Steph (15:28):
I like that word generatively that you've used.
You know, that there's thispotential in this sort of almost
unseen intangible thing, butit's there, you know it's there.
Now, you're exhibiting at the Barossa Regional Gallery,
(15:52):
and you also do live regionallyin a different area, and, as
we've heard, have traveled andlived in many different places.
I know that your childhood,where you were living there, has
an influence that you've touchedon, but what about where you
live now? Does that have anyinfluence on your work?
Monika (16:11):
Well, Australia certainly has. At the moment, I
live in Strathalbyn onNgarrindjeri Land, and it's
beautiful there and I love it.And it's the first time in all
these years of moving around andtraveling that I feel like I've
planted some roots. But before Icame here, I actually lived at
(16:32):
Sea Lake in a Masonic lodge forabout four or five years. And
Sea Lake is the area of theBoorong People, and the wrong
people were actually stargazers.So there's quite a bit of lore
around Lake Terrell and theBoorong People. Anyway, I lived
in Sea Lake, which is only 10minutes from Lake Tyrrell. It's
(16:55):
one of the biggest salt lakes inthat region. 270 square
kilometers, I think. And Ithat's where I started to paint,
sort of the colours of thesunsets and the moon rise. Lake
Tyrrell has actually been anincredible influence on my art,
(17:17):
and it still is, because theMallee is very, very flat. And
you've got that pink salt lakein summer, with this sliver of a
horizon. And that blue sky. Andwhen the sun sets and the moon
rises, it is an incredibleexperience. And my partner and
(17:40):
I, we used to just walk out onthe Salt Lake with a blanket
with a glass of wine and watchthe sunset and the moonrise. And
the colours that you just see...it's just incredible. And in
winter, because it is a saltlake, nothing really lives in
there that sort of moves ordisturbs the water. In winter,
(18:04):
if you go out at a moonless ornew moon, and you walk out onto
the water, you get a completereflection of the sky.
Steph (18:12):
oh wow
Monika (18:12):
So you feel like you're in this dome surrounded by
stars. It is really, reallyincredible. I think tourism has
actually found it, and they'venow put viewing platforms on it.
But anyway, when I used to gothere, it was completely
(18:32):
undisturbed and was the mostincredible place to be. And
that's where I actually startedto paint. Mind you the
paintings, they were justreally... bad.
Steph (18:43):
[both laugh]
Monika (18:45):
Bad paintings! That's what I knew I needed to go to
art school. But anyway, youknow, that creative force just
came through me and I justneeded to paint it. And it was
all about light, colour, theethereal, and yeah, the mystical
encounter that I used to haveout there.
Steph (19:06):
Yeah, and surely it's kind of nice to not be able to
capture it in a way that youwere satisfied with straight
away, that it really was achallenge to try... I think
there's something satisfying inthat surely.
Monika (19:17):
Yes, yes. And then of course, the building, you know,
it was a Masonic Lodge, it was asquare building. And most of my
work is square, I think that'sgot a lot to do with it and the
Freemasons, they really have astrong directional sense of the
building and how they positionit. So the south, north, east
(19:38):
and west, so they really oftentalk about the forces of the
different directions. And again,it's like a cathedral - you
walked into the Masonic Lodgeand you knew it was a sacred
space. You know, so this again,this really awe-inspiring feel,
you know, but mind you like thebuilding we are in here, they
(20:01):
are so cold in winter. I justcouldn't get it warm. It was a
real challenge to live there inwinter. But anyway, I lived
there for about five years. Andthen we moved to Castlemaine and
Bendigo. And then eventually wecame to South Australia.
Steph (20:18):
Wow, what a journey.
Monika (20:19):
Yes.
Steph (20:20):
Gosh. And yeah, sounds like you've just collected and
collected experiences.
Monika (20:25):
Yes. Yeah, very much so
Steph (20:27):
[it's] lovely that they were profound enough to have an
enduring impact.
Monika (20:30):
Oh they have, and the colours that I sort of work with
in my work have a lot to dowith, you know, the natural
spectacle of that place. Becauseit was so uninterrupted. There
were no trees, there were nomozzies, there were no flies,
there was nothing. It was justcolour and space, you know, and
(20:53):
that is something as a European,you just don't experienced
anywhere else.
Steph (20:57):
Yeah, what a thing to behold, gosh.
Monika (21:00):
yeah, it was beautiful,
Steph (21:02):
amazing.
This is one of my favorite questions
a favorite memory of someoneinteracting with your work or
(21:24):
experiencing it?
Monika (21:26):
Um, actually, people always come up to me after I
have had an exhibition, andespecially after an artist talk.
And usually I like to do artiststalks rather than openings,
where someone opens for you, Iprefer an artist talk and
actually talk about my work. Anda lot of people come up to me
(21:49):
afterwards. And whether thereare older people who've had
partners pass away who feel likethey're still communicating with
them, to younger people who havehad an LSD trip or MDMA trip,
whatever it is, and had amystical experience. And, you
(22:11):
know, the similarities are justso incredible. So it seems to be
a naturally occurring thing,that we do have these
experiences. And a lot of peoplecome up to me and talk about it.
And I find it incrediblyinteresting, and honored that
(22:33):
they feel they can talk to meabout it. And, without using
their direct experiences, but itall feeds into my work. And it
also supports me in my beliefthat it is important work.
Steph (22:51):
Yeah, yep.
Monika (22:53):
It is work that... Yeah. contemporary society is yearning
for something more than work,and cash, and interest rates,
and the economy, and all that.
Steph (23:09):
Yeah, no it sounds like it resonates with people in a
way that may also surprise them
Monika (23:13):
and you have a look at, you go and have a look at shows
on Netflix or podcasts. I mean,the mystical and spiritual is
just comes up more and moreoften in the creative
industries, whatever that maybe. So I think, yeah, I think
it's an important andinteresting subject matter.
(23:35):
Yeah.
Steph (23:35):
Yeah, evidently. Oh that's fantastic. And to wrap
things up, because I don't wantto give too much away, I think
we all need to get down and seethe work. But in the interim,
and beyond, where can we followalong with your practice?
Monika (23:49):
Well, I've been shortlisted for the Creative
Health Award, like yourself.
Steph (23:57):
So we can all get down to that.
Monika (23:59):
We'll meet again
Steph (24:00):
Great!
Monika (24:01):
And that will be on from the 1st to the 22nd of
September. So go and have a lookat that. And then of course, my
Instagram and website and I'vealso got some smaller pieces,
experimental pieces on the SALAshop website.
Steph (24:17):
Fantastic. You're everywhere! I love it. Oh, well
thank you so much, and welldone. Thank you for coming down.
Monika (24:27):
Thank you, Steph. And thanks for inviting me to have a
talk to you.
Popular Podcasts
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.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!