‘An artist is a person with talent and the skills to conceptualize and make creative works, often sought out for their skills and original ideas.’
The desire to relate authentically with other humans is why I continue to engage in reflexive praxis as a professional artist. My repertoire is diverse, subject matter contentious, as I challenge taboos, breaking things in collaboration with colleagues, employing interdisciplinary skillsets, a range of mediums and formats. I am my harshest critic.
Sight Light
Throughout my life I have taken my thoughts to paper - used drawing as a means to download or brain dump ideas and in the action, in the doing, sometimes these drawings come to life in other forms.
Fish Forms
Taking inspiration from artist David Smith, who produced amazing works of abstract expressionism, resulted in a whole series of works made from found and forged steel.
Solid Earthing In The 70s
A satirical yet poignant account by artist Tom Puglisi juxtaposes famous figures in the global art scene against the backdrop of his own worldly and creative experience through dry humor. This short work served to introduce an audience to the art scene of the 1970s in Australia, a component of the completion of the unit VIS 1203, Visual Art Theory 2 in the Associate Degree of Arts (Visual & Performing Arts) at Edith Cowan University, Bunbury Campus, Western Australia.
Fifteen Seconds of Fame
I am reliably informed that in 2021 the average attention span for a teenager (in fact most people) engaged in videography media viewing is now six (6) seconds on social media platforms such as TikTok or Snapchat. It seems unavoidable that every successive generation of adults observes their own children and other teenagers as they try and navigate through an ever increasingly distraction-rich and screen-enhanced existence.
Sheep Piece
With an open licence as to how we could present our findings of research into key artists of postmodernity, artist Tom Puglisi and I chose to extend upon our investigation and produce an arts ‘performance’ which we filmed using a thoroughly low-resolution VHS camcorder in the Edith Cowan University, Bunbury Campus main lecture theatre.
Midland Bicentenary Artist In Residence
With the official invitation from Simon Ambrose, Manager of the Midland Redevelopment Cultural Precinct, Western Australia I embarked on an ambitious plan to combine the outcomes of a ceramics unit with Geoff Lummis, through Edith Cowan University, Bunbury Campus with that of public artworks and supported community event - the Midland Bicentenary Celebrations.
Ode To Brett Whiteley
A short 'skit' excerpt from fifteen (15) short films in fifteen (15) hours conducted with Tom Puglisi as part of the Associate Degree (Visual & Performing Arts) at Edith Cowan University, Bunbury Campus, Western Australia. This Art in Education history unit was facilitated by Geoff Lummis who also taught me how to raku kiln fire slumped clay forms built from at-source natural clay gathered in the foothills of Ferguson Valley, Western Australia.
Post Neo-Modernism
A videography production featuring Tom Puglisi as part of the completion of Art in Education units in the Associate Degree program at Edith Cowan University in 1995. The premise of the production is 'a fireside chat with an expert art historian of the time' and in an exchange of ideas, Alexander hayes and Tom Puglisi explore their understandings and proximal nearness to the heady days of a shift from the 1970s into the heady post-neo-modernism period of the '80s.
Headstart
A short film/interview that was conducted in 1995 at the Bunbury campus of Edith Cowan University, Western Australia. In this interview, I speak of my appointment as Artist in Residence and inspiration for that particular body of works which featured in a later solo exhibition at Bunbury Regional Art Gallery, curated by Maggie Buchanan.
A Construction Yard
A significant and very senior public servant recently asked me, brows knitted, coffee froth over lipstick what I considered to be me - how in fact do I describe myself to others.
Growing Pains
I have never imagined for a moment myself as a writer, yet here I am at 6AM in the morning putting pen to paper metaphorically speaking.
Bunkers Bay Series
The south-west of Western Australia is a magical corner of Australia, naturally imbued with a magnificent coastline and rolling hills between.
Textile Study
Studying under the tutelage of artists Pat Bandurski, Jenni Doherty, Russel Sheridan and Linda Scrolys at Edith Cowan University, Western Australia on the Bunbury campus I was encouraged to explore abstract expression using mixed media collage.
Self Portrait
Self-reflexive moments in professional arts practice are rare indeed, in my case the first came about prior to the 1993 South West Survey prize which gave me the impetus to picture myself standing in the kitchen of my beach side home, scratching my head and featureless.
As Time Goes By
With little knowledge and lots of practice comes opportunities to demonstrate your knowledge based on years of practice.
Crescent Moon
This crescent moon rose amongst the ashes of the portal statement at Gralyn Cellars after the pull-down of the ‘Aquatic Desire’ exhibition.
Precious Child
If only we had a magic wand that we could wave and change things in ways that would allow the harder shifts and changes in our lives to just go away.
Welcome To Fatherhood
"Perth? Are you serious?" "Yes" "...Well jump in Son...I am going to take you as far as I can go today and when you get back be sure to give me a call."
Angels By Day
Perhaps it was the screaming, maybe the tension, perhaps even the physical altercations we had as kids with our Father's mainly that drove us onto the street.