Caroline Austin is one of ArtConnect’s Artists to Watch '22

Caroline Austin examines the small and poetic interactions and behaviours of human beings, including the capacity to lose, move, remember, construct, and grow, to draw attention to systems of power, particularly concerning human mobility and movement. Utilising interactive and conversational strategies and more formal research methods, she produces reciprocal artworks that include objects, installations, photography, sound, and ephemeral actions.

ArtConnect asked the winning artists to share with us a glimpse into their creative life to get a sense of their personal inspiration and artistic process.

How did you get started as an artist?

In 2014 I made the decision to study art more formally after working internationally for many years and returned to Australia.

How would you describe your artistic approach?

My work emerges in the interdisciplinary space of art, architecture, and social practice. My work is often centered around observations of, and engagements with, everyday life. The interactions and behaviours of human beings, including the capacity to lose, move, remember, construct, grow, to draw attention to systems of power. I’m particularly focused on human mobility and movement.

And how about what inspires you?

Inspiration can come from a word, phrase, or situation that I might come across, in the media, in books, or in conversations.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced as an artist?

Making art that is situated within the individual self and in relation to the histories and realities of others, within a continually evolving world.

Describe a typical day in the studio/wherever you make your work.

I usually work in the early mornings; planning or writing. As my methods and practice are based on collaboration, I might have meetings during the day. The collaboration process itself for me invites interruption and evolution in ideas. I also find writing or talking about my practice helpful in bouncing ideas back and forth as an indispensable step in the process.

Is there a medium, a process, or a technique that you haven't used in your work yet but would like to try out?

I see architecture and materials playing an important part in the collective memory of this place and its inhabitants – signaling as Aldo Rossi puts it ‘a notice of the past that we are still experiencing.’ In that context, I'm interested in exploring processes that signal the collective memory of place and deepening my investigation of materials and memory – looking at substances and elements like carbon and salt.

What are you currently working on? Or an upcoming project you want to mention?

Recently, I have been exploring game theory in my work, using the actions of folding and cutting. With those actions I am attempting to orchestrate space and movement into the works, asking viewers to attune to the intricacies of our entanglement with human, nonhuman and elemental forces.

How does it feel to be selected as an ArtConnect Artist to Watch?

Surprised and excited.

See more of Caroline’s work

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