Todd Fuller - Damo In A Dress
Todd Fuller is a fat bald man in a bunny suit. Not really, he is actually a twenty two year old graduate of the National Art School who now works as a curator, teacher and artist. Fuller works across multiple disciplines and has been exhibited nationally and internationally. His work has been shown at many venues including the National Portraiture Gallery, Deakin University Gallery, and Limner Gallery in New York. He was the winner of the Lloyd Rees Memorial Youth art prize (2009), Walker St Emerging artist award (2010) and recently, he spent the summer in Paris on the Storrier/Onslow residency at the Cité International Des Arts. Todd Fuller
1 What was your favourite thing to do when you were a kid? Lets just say that sport and I did not find one another favourable. Instead, I remember spending a great deal of time doing similar things to what now constitutes my artist practice. I would construct worlds, characters and imaginative fantasies to keep myself amused (usually in the back of the family car at any number of my brothers sporting events). I would write and illustrate books as well as construct elaborate houses and cities for my toys. Most of all, there was always cartooning and drawing! You know that cool kid in the class who would dazzle everyone with a pencil? Well sadly I was not him, at least not to start with. But I was next to him, trying really really hard! 3 2 What/ Who is the biggest influence to your art practice? I still remember encountering a William Kentridge documentary on the ABC when I was very young, I was entranced at his charcoal story of Johannesburg, although I did not comprehend the severity of what I was witnessing. I still find the works and writings of Kentridge to be monumental and no matter how many times I experience them, I always find something new to contemplate within his marks. I am a complete disciple to Kentridge, but I am also making a point to find my own path in animation and bring my own voice to the medium. He has taught me about the process of drawing as well as how to be genuine in the content of the work you make. His work is driven by dedication and total commitment to a beautiful process. I cannot wait for the day when I get to meet him! 4 Todd Fuller - Tin Man IV
Tell us more about your art... My work is a three fold integration of drawing, film and sculpture. It usually starts with a sketch, triggered by a dream, thought, phrase, experience or a chance encounter. I note it down in my diary immediately, desperate to not lose that fleeting idea or moment... My animations are created via stop gap through a continued application of drawing and painting a surface. Through photographing each mark or brush stroke, as well as constantly making changes, I am able to reveal the entire process of drawing and also simulate movement. It is a very physical and labour-intensive task which is achieved through low tech means, it is nothing more than a camera and a piece of paper or canvas with me dashing vigourously between the two. I do this to both celebrate drawing and to also create intricate, personal narratives that often evolve around a figure. On the other hand, my sculptures are these figures but liberated into the third dimension with there own sense of physicality. They are static and quite small, created from various clays. Once fired, I treat the surfaces in a number of unique ways one of my favourites is the bright suede-like flocking applied to my men in bunny suits. We LOVE your little men sculptures, are they the story tellers of your feelings and thoughts? My little guys are many things, some are alter egos which I dare to let loose on the world, others are manifestations of memories or exaggerations of observations from 5 life. They are all male and tend to be bald and round in all the right places. They are all absurd. After all, it is not everyday you encounter a fat man in a bunny suit or tutu sneaking around a park. On the other hand they are very average and are just expressing the implications of experiences which are quite regular and everyday. I want people to experience a whole plethora of emotions as they spy on my tiny fellas, they are funny and they are cute, but they are also trapped in moments that are designed to trigger contemplation and speculation. Most of all, they are just huggable, loveable blokes. Congratulations to your success on your upcoming first solo show at Brenda May Gallery! Could you tell us more about the show? The show is titled 'tense' and is an ambitious exhibition which will span both spaces at Brenda May Gallery. I don't want to give away to many surprises but this show will see a section of the gallery completely transformed into a quirky cinematic experience. For a few years I have been developing my own style of animation, but never before have my films been screened in this way. This show will be the premiere for some new films, story lines and characters but it will also see some old favourites used in a new manner. Apart from the screening area, the remainder of the space will be presenting my sculptures and drawings. These drawings are created through this process of animation. while the sculptures are the leading men from my films in the third dimension. I have constructed this whole exhibition like a play or at the least, one of my films. It will be filled with moments of tension and melancholy and others of comic relief with protagonists and antagonists. It has been an exciting process pulling it all together.
6 How do you manage the marketing side of your works? Any advise for other fellow artists? All that cliché advice we hear all the time is overused for a reason... because it works! Start by silencing that voice that says you are selling out by engaging in marketing. At the end of the day you could be the best artist in the world but if nobody sees your work, then that's a complete shame. Not just for you, but also the greater artinterested public. Be informed! Subscribe to NAVA, Arts Hub, and every mailing list you can findregional, commercial and institutional galleries. Don't be afraid to look outside Australia as there are some international opportunities that are interested in Australian talent. There are thousands of possibilities for art makers in this country and abroad, half the battle is positioning yourself to be aware of such openings. Keep a goal in mind and work through a series of smaller obtainable steps to get there. You should always be thinking ahead and working one, or even two years in advance, after all exhibition calendars and events are planned many months in advance. When working towards an exhibition you should also be aware of what you want to happen after that exhibition. It is all about building and maintaining a momentum, when you achieve one of your goals (whether it be a successful show, winning a prize, getting a grant or publicity), savour the moment and use it as ammunition to help achieve your next goal. 7 Set aside regular time for writing and applications, there an opportunity that is just as necessary as art making its Most of all, and apologies for the inevitable corniness tha stop learning and questioning what you're doing. Everyth you is an opportunity to grow (set backs and rejection le thing to direct you towards the opportunity which h is rig the best pieces of advice I have received for dealing g with (and life) is to make sure you are the best person yo mouth anyone, be generous with your time and knowle everyone. Be honest and authentic, not just in the art yo you lead, this is obviously not just for career purposes. What are your upcoming plans for you I am getting an increasing amount of curatorial work so as well as my art making and teaching. One of my curato August at Cessnock Regional Art Gallery (the week Brenda May Gallery). After this I will be working with th the Vineyards this year, and I will be Waverley Council's A the second half of 2011. I maintain that it is a blessing to I am looking forward to a pretty intense few months. Todd Fuller - Thrust III
is an art to getting elf. t is to follow, never ing that is thrown at tters are just someht for you). One of the Art world u can be, don't bad dge and be nice to u make but the life r artist career? 8 9 Five words to describe yourself... Covered in clay and charcoal! If you had to t choose a song to represent your art, what would that be and why? Well, I often wake up in the morning feeling like P Diddy, so I would have to say Kesha. But seriously, I don't think a single song summaries the work that I make. It's more like a karaoke night in Kings Cross, there's the tragic, the unfortunate, and the lonely, there are plenty of diva's and soul and of course there's a man in a dress sulking in the corner... I intend to pursue this rial projects opens in after 'tense' opens at e team at Sculpture in rtist in Residence for be busy in the Arts so Fuller s first commercial solo show: TENSE 2nd - 27th August Brenda May Gallery 2 Danks Street Waterloo NSW