In Conversation with Rob Allen and Adrian Ashman, creators of Imagined Boundaries
Gallery Director, Mary Findlay, chats to Imagined Boundaries artists, Rob Allen & Adrian Ashman.
Rob Allen: Painter-Sculptor
Rob Allen
MF: When did Art rear its beautiful muse and capture your attention?
RA: “Even in my early years in primary school, I copied popular imagery. I loved to draw animals and I painted landscapes, often really ambitious ones.”
MF: When was the next pivotal moment?
RA: “I had an Art teacher in year 9, Barbara Stevens, an indelible memory. She was a friend of Ian Fairweather, in the latter part of his life at that time, living in his shack on Bribie Island. She took me along one day when she dropped in some shopping she had done for him.
“It was an insight into being a “real artist”, someone whose whole existence was directed to creating art. At this point there was a fundamental shift in my thoughts. I realised that Art just might be an option—the difficulty being parental expectations of getting a “real job”. So, I embarked on a career in design.”
MF: Where to from there?
RA: “Process, knuckling down, earning money! Learning the practice and discipline of design in the Queensland Museum … but eventually, that too was stifling.”
MF: Next Place?
RA: “2006 was a breakthrough, a leap of faith; left the Museum after 26 years. I freelanced until 2011; had an exhibition in 2012, the first since 1986, always fauna and landscapes. The next significant event was another exhibition of paintings in 2018—where all works were sold. Since then I have been working on this exhibition, Imagined Boundaries … and here we are.”
Adrian Ashman: Photographic Artist
MF: When did Art rear its beautiful muse and capture your attention?
Adrian Ashman
AA: As a kid, I hated school. I loved being by myself in the bush, climbing trees, playing with snakes, and scaring everything I could—especially my parents. What came of that was a love and appreciation of Nature that’s stayed with me throughout the course of my life. I think there was turning point when I got my first camera—a Christmas present from my parents—and started to record some of my experiences, especially in Nature and, of course I took silly pictures that kids of my age did.”
MF: What was the next pivotal point in your life?
AA: “This came in my late teenage and early adult years when I started painting with oils. I tried watercolour first, but the paper generally turned into a form of sticky brown slush. Oils seemed to suit my tendency to be impulsive because whatever I did, I made something I could understand without it being especially realistic. I also tried drawing with pencil and charcoal, but was too impatient. It was always a failure. I’m okay with stick figures, but that’s about the most sophisticated I ever got.
“The move from painting to photography was a natural transition for me.
“My job supported my photography as I frequently travelled domestically and internationally. This provided all sorts of opportunities to explore Nature and landscapes that I’d never experienced in Australia.
“And over the years, I sold a reasonable number of black-and-white prints and was pretty good in the darkroom.”
MF: Where to from there?
AA: “In 2003, I bought my first digital camera, which is on display in the exhibition. This opened up a very different world. Instead of sending half a dozen rolls of film to Kodak and waiting for the results, all you had to do was look at the screen on the back of the camera. This led a very steep learning curve. Like, what to do with 600 or 1,000 images at the end of a shoot?”
MF: Next place?
AA: “Becoming competent with post-processing software was essential. In reality, using the software to manipulate images is conceptually exactly the same process as we used in the darkroom, but then it was with chemicals and little metal wands for dodging and burning. These days, I spend much more time at shooting locations just looking and watching, rather than taking a hundred shots. Now, I make sure I get the best image in-camera that I can in terms of composition and quality of image.
“The next place is going to be a real challenge. I’ve just started working on a new project with two really brilliant photographers that’s going to take me out of my comfort zone. It’s a bit scary when I think about it, but more about that in due course.”