ARTIST STATELEMT
Alexis is a visual artist working primarily in digital illustrations and oil painting respectively. With a background and interest in printmaking, writing and graphic design. Their work covers narrative based character and environment illustration and writing, as well as fine abstract landscape painting, exploring satellite imagery and cartography. While these are two starkly different sides of their practice, both focus on the relationship of humanity with the world, or lack thereof, in personal and emotional ways.
For the writing and illustration side of their practice, the concepts covered are largely centred on writing, narrative and other forms of media. With this kind of work, Alexis delves into topics of morality, faith and love, and how humanity manages this throughout the world and amongst themselves.
The painting side of their practice delves into areas of the world that are untouched by humanity and civilisation, investigating landscapes in a way that is decidedly nonhuman. With this ongoing research, work and experimentation, Alexis is trying to examine a view of landscapes that is unfiltered by a human view, discovering new ways to manipulate and see the world in a way that brings it out in unpredictable ways.
In both these cases, Alexis is focusing on different levels of human relationships within the world and the effect they have. While this intention was not always clear to them, the realisation of this has continued to influence their practice and how they approach it. They wish to continue to discover and uncover this relationship wherever else it resides, and what it truly means to me to approach it in this way.
About the artist:
I am 21, queer and an arts student, in the final stretch of finishing my bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts. I completed my Certificate III in Graphic and Digital Design while I was finishing grade 12, and immediately after began my diploma of Visual Art. After a break year where I moved and worked, I began my bachelors in Visual Art full time. Before this, I knew how art had helped me and what it meant to me, but through this studying I have been able to gather what it means to others, and what it can accomplish on a wider scale.
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Growing up in a small village in rural Australia, art has been one of the things I have been taken with since I was young. It was a retreat, and it gave me a sense of self and direction when I otherwise wouldn’t have had any. When I was younger, and alone, I would find peace in fiction, books, media and art. That was how I grounded myself and found myself. I grew up wanting to read and write and explore and discover, delve into the things I found myself fascinated in and create things inspired from them. As such, my art comes from a place of narrative and fascination. With this, there comes a need for me to search for all the meaning and possible discoveries that can come from exploring themes and topics in these ways. Going through higher education allowed me to develop these fascinations and forms of creativity with structure and direction, giving my practice a reach and meaning that can go beyond me.
INTERVIEW
With Alexis Chrishunds
WHAT WAS YOUR MOTIVATION WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED AS A VISUAL ARTIST?
At the risk of sounding very dramatic, art was all I had. Books and media and writing and art were all I had growing up in a time when I felt completely alone. I knew I was queer from a young age and never felt safe enough to express it, or express myself, and I had no room or community to be myself in. With art, however, writing and creating and crafting, I found direction, calm. Belonging. A sense of purpose. It wasn’t a matter of wanting to create; It was a need.
WHAT KIND OF ARTIST DID YOU DREAM OF BECOMING?
I had a lot of role models and idols when I first started creating, most of them for different things. Some it was for their amazing art and capabilities, some for their narrative and style. When I think about it now though, and how my ideals have changes, the thing that has stayed consistent is community. Those people I looked up to all had fans and followers and a community built around respect and admiration for their work and practice. I want to be the kind of artist worthy of that kind of community, I want to be able to give back to the people that support me.
WHERE DID YOUR ART COME FROM? WHAT INSPIRED IT?
A lot of different things; it depends what art you’re asking about. My illustration and writing started when I was very young, with just an urge to create anything. So, I drew, and I imagined, and I practised. And my art evolved. I drew my own stories, and then other peoples. It became a huge part of my life, and now I can’t imagine not creating art this way.
Satellite, however, is a little different. When I would write, I would need to research. Research places and countries, and my first step when I needed to learn about a different land or community was to drop myself into Google Maps street view and wonder, for ages. And I would find wonders. I would save screenshots, and each time I went looking I found something more amazing than the last time, and then I was doing it for fun; clicking over deserts and abandoned places to find images I could never have imagined. Before long, I had hundreds of images and endless fascination, and that was a call to action I couldn’t ignore.
HOW DID YOU BECOME THE KIND OF ARTIST YOU ARE TODAY? WAS IT AN ETHICAL OR AESTHETIC DECISION?
I believe my art definitely started as aesthetic. I definitely has a style and direction I was aiming for, creating content to fit those meant. Now, though, now that I am confident in my own style and capabilities, there are themes and messages I want to use my art to convey. With my writing and illustration, I explore love and morality and connection, and I believe it is the most meant to convey these themes. My landscape works touch on themes of humanity’s impact on the world, technology and the human gaze. These things aren’t a side effect of my art anymore, they are a choice and direction.
DO YOU THINK THAT ART CAN BE EFFECTIVE AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL?
Absolutely. I believe there is an art form out there for everybody, and as long as people have the capacity to learn and discover something new, art can be the bridge that not just brings it to them but lets them explore and engage with it. I have learnt a lot in researching and developing my Satellite series, amazing things, so I know that I have elements of these works that I want to share with the world. The best way for me to do that is show them, through my art.
WHAT DO YOU WANT THE PUBLIC TO SEE AND FEEL WHEN THEY LOOK AT YOUR ARTWORK AND WHY?
I only want people to feel the same fascination I feel. My work and the things I am trying to convey is something I am so deeply connected to and dedicated to, and I want to be able to share it. The background and meaning and themes in my work is something I truly believe has the potential to connect with people.
WHAT ARE SOME FUTURE DREAM PROJECTS YOU WISH TO PURSUE?
I have many dream projects! Though, if I have to pin point some; firstly, I want to finish my writing and comics, to publish them and create discussion and community around them. For Satellite, I want to go bigger and bolder. I want to work with new mediums and on new materials. I want to give these landscapes the work they deserve, in forms so big and breathtaking people won’t be able to look away. Over all, what I want is to continue to grow my art forms, and reach as many people and new heights as possible.