I wanted
to bring
my paintings
to life.
For the most part, I consider myself a painter. Clay was more of a means to an end. I spent years painting the seemingly insignificant corners of mess from the inside of peoples homes. Your bedside table, your kitchen bench… kind of like ‘you are what you eat…’ but more so, ‘you are what you choose to keep.’
Whether you're aware of it or not, the brands you buy, the ornaments you put on display, the way you do or don’t decorate your house all say a lot about you. The paintings were meant to act as indirect portraits of people, using the mundane to highlight their quirky nuances. Some of these people I knew prior, but the majority are complete strangers who I convinced to let me peer into their homes, most with the email subject “May I paint you?” And as it turns out, few people say no to being a muse.
‘The Fly Lady’ - Oil on canvas
(See more paintings here)
Clay only came into my life after I had the urge to pull out some of the items in my paintings, and slip-casting seemed like a new and interesting option. It started off with the Saxa Salt and the Hendricks Gin bottle. And the name, Austin Flowers, was simply because it’s hilarious and adorable at the same time.
The squishing came naturally. I knew that I wanted them to look real, but not quite real. As though reality can be warped. As though you can take the mundane and squish it into something beautiful.
“When are you visiting your Baba?”
Oil on canvas
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My Baba is the type of woman that doesn’t really know how to tell jokes, make polite conversation, or indulge in the luxuries of life… but with bare hands she can pull a tray of pork and potatoes straight out of the oven. She lives on the old family orchard in country Victoria in a town called Shepparton, having moved over from Macedonia in 1960s.
For as long as I can remember the Saxa salt has been a staple in her kitchen, along with the jar of roasted peppers that she still grows, picks, roasts and hand peels. Jars fill her fridge, pantry, and garage as well as our luggage every time we go to visit.
“The Neighbour”
Oil on canvas
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This painting is from inside the home of a dilapidated share house in Coolangatta, Gold Coast, occupied by a rotating number of 20-something-year olds. The interior is saved by velvet couches, record players, and lush indoor plants, as most share houses are when money is low but morale high. The promise of cheap rent with an ocean view almost nullifies the mould growing on the walls and the unnerving slant of the second floor.
The house is endearing and its occupants a motley crew of millennials building their own family. Cook ups take place every second Friday night, lead by Eli, the long-haired boy from Israeli who calls his mum his best friend.
In my year of living next door to the house I saw 5 housemates come and go, along with one lover-turned-stalker who broke in twice. At the time, one girl remained the Matriarch who had been there the longest. She had taken on the responsibility of looking after Salem, the stray black cat that had called their front yard home for a rumoured 18 years. That was until his gruesome death. Everyone knew that his end was around the corner, but no one expected it to be in such a bloody way.
Austin Flowers on Instagram
