Steaphan is an interdisciplinary artist. His practice explores tradition, race and colonialism informed through his worldview being Aboriginal Australian. Some of his key achievements in the last year have been being commissioned for the City of Melbourne Laneways Commission and having an exhibition at the Melbourne Museum. His goal for the next few years is to create good art, to be a finalist in the Archibald Prize and to get an overseas residency.
Ryan Presley
Ryan Presley was born in Alice Springs, 1987. His practice involves a questioning and negating of historical and contemporary contexts. Presley utilises his own mixed heritage experiences and insights to contribute other understandings to the social and cultural nature of past and present colonial Australia. Presley’s work was included in PICA’s Hatched National Graduate Show and been acquired by the Queensland University Museum of Art and Murdoch University art collections.
Megan Cope
Megan Cope’s work explores notions of environment, identity, geomorphology and mapping; decolonising methodologies and toponymy are a primary aspect of her practice. She is a descendant from the Quandamooka region (North Stradbroke Island) in South East QLD. Megan has exhibited her works at the Australian Embassy in Washington DC, the Koori Heritage Trust in Melbourne, City Gallery in Wellington NZ, Cairns regional art gallery and the 2009 ARC Biennial in Brisbane. Over the years Megan has curated and directed several projects including ‘tinygold’ (’07,’08 & ’09) , ‘Art with Altitude’ at Brisbane Airport Village (2012), ‘Desperate Spaces’, the Artist Handbook “So You Want To Be An Artist” (2010) and was the Creative Director of the Brisbane Artist Run Initiatives Festival (09/10). In 2011 Megan also became a member of Aboriginal collective proppaNOW.
Henry Jock Walker
Live ephemeral performance is an integral aspect of surfing culture. Henry Walker’s intuitive performances of abstract painting and making in an art space, studio, public or surfing context are documented and displayed by hijacking methods of presentation from surf culture. The crossover of surfing action and action painting morphs his practice onto a unique platform for exploration between the surfing and art community. Walker has exhibited at TCB Inc, Melbourne (Somethingland, 2012), Nexus Gallery, Adelaide (Endless Summer, 2012) and was the recipient of the 2011 Victorian College of Art Graduation Rearview Exhibition Prize and the 2009 Helpmann Academy Graduate Exhibition Prize.
Georgie Mattingley
Georgie graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in 2012. Often adopting a playful humour and a quirky use of visual aesthetic, Georgie aims to beautify confronting spaces or events, as a tool to question people’s limits and values. She believes art is a social language. Georgie has spent time practicing in Melbourne, Australia and in Mumbai, India.
Esther Stewart and Oscar Perry
Esther Stewart has exhibited in several artist run initiatives including Blindside, Platform Contemporary Art Space, Rearview and TCB. In 2010 Esther was included in Fresh 2010 at Craft Victoria, an exhibition and award that explored new parameters of contemporary craft and design. In 2012 Esther presented Foldout a site specific installation as part of New Babylon in Next Wave Festival 2012. Esther completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts, with First Class Honours in 2010, majoring in Sculpture and Spatial Practice.
Oscar Perry graduated from a BFA (Painting) at the Victorian College of the Arts in 2009 and an Honours (Painting) from RMIT in 2012. Solo exhibitions include Imperial Leather, Utopian Slumps, Melbourne, 2012; Moonraker, TCB Art Inc, Melbourne, 2012; and The Eagle has Landed, Rearview, Melbourne, 2011. Selected group exhibitions include S.A.A.P, Lowrise Projects, Richmond, 2012; Boom Boom, Napier Hotel, Melbourne, 2011; and The Float, Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne, 2009.