Arthole presents: Fembots

15-09-15

Ahead of the latest exhibition in the ArtHole Presents series, Fembots,  curator Morris Monroe chats to artist Stephen Morallee about his practice.

Who are you and what medium do you work in?

I'm Stephen Morallee - I work  with photography, drawing, painting and video.

 Who was the first artist who mesmerised young you, and what work specifically caught your eye?

The first artist I fell in love with as a kid was Joan Miro. The first work of his I loved had lots of blue in it and a spider.

 What training have you received in your chosen medium, if any?

I'm mostly self taught but but joined Billy Childish's collective 'Heckles Horse' in 2014 and he has been mentoring me since in drawing and painting.

 What's your fave piece of your work on exhibition with ArtHole?

I love all my Fembots equally like a good mother/father should - but between us gals Fembot 12000 is my favourite.

 In an ideal world, what would you change about the current art world?

I would hope for greater support for artists to see themselves as free - less contained within the paradigms of approval/disapproval - to be kinder and more nurturing to themselves - to debunk the myth of the suffering artist somehow being requisite to the job and most of all for them to see that being financially stable/independent and being deeply authentic are not mutually exclusive.

 What do you aspire to?

To produce deeper and more authentic work each day and for it to reach and impact those who would enjoy it.

 Tell us a secret about yourself...

I'm an assassin.

What music do you make your art to?

Listened to a lot of Janelle Monáe  for these Fembots.

Describe your working process for us...

My models and I enter into a kind of moving meditation called Deetell that I developed about 12 years ago. From this state nude with various coloured fabrics and a particular camera set up, completely free spontaneous movement is captured. I then take a horizontal opposite and integrate it with the original and the Fembots arise.

What was the last thing that moved you to tears?

Fembot 12000

Join ArtHole Presents: FemBots on Thursday 24 September from 6-9pm.