Joel Crosswell
Photo credit– The Mercury
I don't see becoming an artists as a path, it's just something that's always been a part of me and what I do. To me, art means a lot of different things, but as an artist, I find it easier to express myself and ideas through visual means. A lot of the artists I'm drawn to are figurative artists. I like how they manipulate the form, and re-construct the figure in different contexts. I'm interested in the strange, the distorted, the supernatural and more abstract ways of looking at things. I see art as almost like a play. It's the narrative, the props, the colour and the timing of things that inspire me to make art. I adopt a similar process as that of a method actor- fully immersing myself in themes, story and materials to create another world within my work.I have a few favourites...
My favourite art experience would be being part of the Skullbone Experiment- a residency at Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Skullbone Plains, which was supported by the Tasmanian Land Conservancy (TLC), provided me the time and space to challenge my practice and develop a new way of working.
Several years back, I was selected to work with visiting International artists Fabien Giraud and Raphaël Siboni in their site-specific, 24-hour long performance work, eventuating in the film The Unmanned, showcased at MONA the same year.
In 2015, I visited the Venice Biennale and the theme, curated by Okwui Enwezar, was 'All the World's Futures' so there were some nice intersections with themes I explore in my own work.
At Sawtooth I was part of a group show in 2012, where I presented a large installation of automatic line drawings. I’m really thankful to be invited to be a part of Sawtooth’s 25th anniversary.
Biography
Joel Crosswell is a contemproary artist with one of the most diverse practices in lutruwita/Tasmania. While drawing and sculpture are often central to his practice, he is keenly experimental with his process and his material vernacular is broad.
Since graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at the Tasmanian School of Art, University of Tasmania in 2008, Crosswell has exhibited locally, interstate, and in solo and group exhibitions, and Art Fairs. His work is part of public and private collections.