Q5 with Sandy Edgar

This month our exhibition has been broght to us by The Pop Up Collective who are curating an International Men's Day themed exhibition called I am Man (official website here). We're delighted to have such a diverse variety of styles of art from the 4 artists in the exhibiton and will be posting a Q5 for each of them. Our next artist is Sandy Edgar who also happens to be one of the co-directors of Cell Art Space. Read about his art and inspiration below.


Q1: Tell us about yourself as an artist?

I am an emerging artist based in Cairns. Up until a couple of years ago all my work was digital and photography based but since starting formal training at TAFE and JCU, I have been loving delving into traditional media which has been fun. Currently I am working towards a happy medium between the older and new skills. You can see my work on my website which can be found at www.sandyedgar.com .

Q2: Please describe the art you have in the exhibition?

I have two pieces in the show. The first is a hebel stone sculpture titled ‘Melancholy’ I made in 2011 and it is based on mental illness which has touched my life in the past. It’s a subject that affects most Australian men at some point of their lives so I thought it was fitting for the theme of the show.

The second is a set of 6 self-portrait illustrations I created recently for another project that I repurposed and put together as a single piece. The original concept was based around conversations so it was a small step to alter them to instead have commentary on social media and it’s distorting effect on modern social-media based communication.

Q3: You also curated this exhibition, what inspired you to put it on?

Fellow artist David Goebel and I both worked on putting it all together. We have a small ARI called the Pop Up Collective which we created to explore exhibition opportunities. We’d seen the excellent International Women’s Day events put together by another local ARI called Knock Knock and admired not only the art but also how well they had run their program the last few years. Our goal wasn’t to copy, but we thought that there was room for art shows about the male condition, especially in a regional city like Cairns where Men’s health is not often talked about. We wanted to be able to show that being male in Australia is as varied as it is complex and we are not all stereotypical thong-wearing-beer-swilling-blokes. We’re really proud of the the work that has gone into the show so make sure you check it out!

Q4: What is your favorite part of making art?

I’m still finding my feet when it comes to how I’d like to express myself in what my art says to the world but aside from that, there is the pure joy and satisfaction of creating art that has driven me right from the start and will continue to do so. I enjoy trying new things and working to improve not only the conceptual side but also how well I make it.

Q5 Who are your favourite artists?

I could list so many here but I’ll narrow it down for you. There are two artists who have had the biggest influence on my art. Andy Warhol for Pop Art which has been a strong theme in my work so far, especially in relation to use of colour and style. And although my work does not resemble his, Joseph Cornell for introducing me to the idea of making assembled art which has transformed how I work and will for years to come.

Living artists, there’s so many that I admire for their skill and daring and breadth of imagination but those who immediately come to mind are Françoise Nielly, Felix D’Eon and Bill Myers, Amber Moon, Greg Dwyer, (my fellow exhibitors as well of course) plus so many more.

'I am Man' runs from November 2 - 30, 2013 at 109 Lake Street, Cairns. As always Cell Art Space is open 24/7 and is still accessible to pedestrians during the City Place upgrade. Closest parking is behind Canopy off Grafton Street.