unFRINGEd

The newest gallery in the Inner West is Plump Gallery, at 240 Enmore Road. It will be home to the ELECTRIC ENCOUNTERS digital arts exhibition from September 10th until the 20th. The exhibit’s curator, Larry Heath, chats to the owner of Plump, Willurei Kirkbright, about the space and her live music photography (which will appear as part of the exhibition).

Starting up a gallery is a massive undertaking, what brought on the desire to open Plump?

It is a huge undertaking but I love it so much! I have been devoted to Art for as long as I can remember. I think it is possibly the most important, poignant and beautiful form of reflection we humans have. I think it’s a vital part of society and of peoples freedom. Peoples freedom of speech, thought and expression. It is where a real justice takes place, often for people who would otherwise never have their stories told, never have their voices heard. I am Aboriginal and Art has bought justice to my people as well as aloud us to hold on to our culture.

As much as I love Art there are many elements to the Art world that I hate. Such as the elitism and the pretentiousness of many galleries, how inaccessible they are to allot of people. I agree with the expansion of knowledge and skills achieved through educational institutions but other than that I do not believe institutions or corporations have any place in Art. I feel that the work itself should always be more important than the name signed on it. I hate that the Art scene is in reality controlled by the wealthy who often see Artists as expendable. Some Artists get paid unbelievable amounts for a single piece of work yet other talented but unknown ones have their work constantly undervalued and overlooked. The term ‘starving Artists’ is commonly used and viewed as completely acceptable. Like that is the cost of ‘choosing that life style’ I have told people that I am an Artists and had them say to me “so you don’t work then?” or :”so you don’t have a real job?”

When I was a teenager I used to always get into trouble in art class for arguing with the teacher. I found the idea of someones Artistic expression being graded wrong. The rigid formula you have to spit out to receive funding and the safe choices made by arts prize judges makes me angry and quite sad. The ridiculous idea that your work is not of much worth until you have gone through university is so wrong. I am challenged with this belief constantly as an Artist. The set definition of what a gallery should be is limited and limiting, I want to stretch that definition. I want it to be a question of how good is the art in the gallery rather than how much has been spent on a renovation or printing a room sheet. Being an Artist myself I wanted to cut the middle man out and be able to support unknown, unconventional Artists and local community members. As well address issues and support causes such as the housing crises in Sydney, for which I am working with squatters rights activist to put on a exhibition.

I have grown up around Marrickville and Newtown, surrounded by a array of incredibly creative people. Watching places like the Red Rattler and Oh Really Gallery form and provide space for many unique Artist and performers has been a huge inspiration. A huge inspiration has been figure 8 who are a collection of beautifully people that make things like Peats Ridge and reclaim the lanes festivals happen. I have felt this need for an affordable space that anyone would feel comfortable coming to. I know many talented people who probably don’t tick all the funding body boxes.

I dearly want to break the stereotypical idea of what Aboriginal Art is and what it means to be an Aboriginal person. There are over 6 hundred different tribes all with their own way of making art, we don’t all do dot paintings. I have grown up mostly in the city surrounded by western ideals and media but this does not make my work any less Aboriginal. This is one of my biggest goals and challenges.

I am so very lucky to be doing something that I love and care about. There are so many people stuck in jobs they hate, don’t believe in or worse of all don’t agree with. It is a lot of hard work and there is always heaps to think about but it is all well worth it.

How did that desire become Plump? How did you decide on the venue and the name?

I was thinking about owning my own Gallery for a few years but never really thought it would happen. Then I inherited some money form my late step father Rick Farley, I loved Rick very much and miss him dearly. I wanted to do something with the money that he would be proud of. He actually gave me my first manual camera, a Pentax with two different lenses that he took around Australia when he was young. Anyway, I was catching a bus from Marrickville into the city when I looked out the window to see a new lease sign in the old antique dealers on Enmore Rd. I never realized how big the property was because there had always been overflowing with chandeliers and vintage treasures. I looked at the huge box windows and the unusual shape of the rooms. I loved the original features in the building as I have always had a thing for old fashioned craftsmanship and nostalgia in general.
I immediately saw what it could be, that it was so perfect for a gallery and in the perfect place for me. I wrote the number down and the rest is history.

I came up with the name Plump when I was half asleep in bed one morning. I feel like the gallery is the result of a serge of creativity and ripe ideas that are ready to burst. I wanted something that sounded luscious and rich (not like money rich but like Chocolate mud cake rich). I want to present juicy concepts that challenged the way people see or think of things. I also had in mind the expression ‘pleasently plump’ which made me think how it is unhealthy to be too thin and usually related to drugs,negative body image or poverty, also that it is unhealthy to be overweight usually related to over consumption,greed and laziness. Once I started saying Plump to some friends they could not stop saying it over and over…Plump…Plump…Plump Gallery and I knew this was a good sign.

What do you look for when finding artists and pieces to exhibit at Plump?

I look firstly at the work and judge from my gut reaction, my first emotive response. I am very honest so I say what I think and gently pry into the hows and whys of the works creator. This is by far my favorite part of the job, getting to listen to people talk about their work, it’s amazing. I have always been really interested in art and have actively learnt as much as I can. Not to mention haunting galleries for most of my adult life. Being a maker of things myself helps a lot, I look at things both as an Artist and as a curator. I have really strong instincts that I trust in. The hardest thing is saying no to people or explaining that I don’t think their work is not ready to show. I will never turn away someone because I don’t personally like the work if I can see skill, technique, value and merit in what they are doing. I look for thought provoking works, unique concepts, new interesting ways of approaching things, attention to detail and crucially something that makes people feel something. I look for visionaries and people who dedicate them selves to their practice. I look for people who rock the boat.

What brought you into the field of live music photography?

I basically started photographing some of my friends bands and just developed a major crush on capturing live shows. There is something extremely exciting and rewarding about documenting something that is never going to happen just the same again and you do not know what is going to come next. it is like photographic magic and there is a sort of magic between performer and audience. I love performers and particularly musicians, I think they are a special breed of people.

Who do you look to for creative inspiration?

Not to sound too aloof but in truth I look all around me for creative inspiration. I try to be as open to different perspectives as I can be. I try to be as aware of the world around me as I can be all the time. There are many Artists that I respect but feel like its more the sum of my observations, reactions and experiences in which these Artists have been instrumental. I am always drawing inspiration from my ancestors and the land that I belong to too.

So come on down to Plump Gallery, eliminating the cap between high brow and low budget Art… but remember, no schmoozing aloud!

2. 9. 2010
Willurei Kirkbright
Plump Gallery