Carla Uriarte’s doodles are dinky, wonky, pinky-plonky. She incorporates scrawls, bubble writing and statements, the catching’s of a conversation, passing thoughts and internal monologues into her drawings of birds, creatures, women and abstract landscapes. Her approach has a way of presenting a female sensibility amongst her make-believe Australiana landscape lilt and intriguing creatures and friendly monsters: some of her work are simply abstract forms that might hold mouths, tongues, teeth, housed in globules of colour and shade.
They are definitely doodles, in the sense that they seem to be scratched from the surrealism of her mind, yet are brought forth into reality through the statements that neither start nor stop. It almost feels like the images and the words reflect one another: they neither have sharp edges or some no edges at all. Merely soft openings without the need for a cathartic finish.
They are surrealistic, they are eye-catching, they are calming: they are doodles destined to define nothing in particular but open a frame into a world Carla has created for herself and her viewers, invited to enter and interpret as they see fit.
What do you do for fun, what’s your favourite colour, how did you get into drawing and illustration?
What were you good at in school, what were you not so good at?
Sport. Focusing.
What defines a doodle?
Quick movements without too much effort or thought.
When you draw, what comes first: the statement or the illustration?
Still unsure. Can’t say. Either or depending on the moment.
Who is the best doodler in history?
David Shrigley
In the UK, the government is increasingly moving focus away from the arts, leaving a potential massive gap in young people’s education of art. How important is art to you?
Very IMPORTANT – for obvious reasons. I think that without the education of art it is easy for a young person to think that they cannot make a career out of ART which can cause them to feel forced into working in a field that does not interest them — leading to a life with no passion or pizazz, resentment etc. etc.
Does Australia enter your work?
The landscape, feelings, people and experiences of wherever I happen to be always enters my work.
Does your mind drift as you draw or does drawing help your mind drift?
I think my mind drifts 24/7. I find that the mediation of drawing brings me inside of my head allowing me to explore the different layers of all that goes on within.
Aged only 22, Gordi (real name Sophie Payten) may be writing lyrics within an established lexical field of relationships and existential probing, but her production fuses traditional guitars with synth to give a bright new contribution to an established canon. Born in Canowindra in rural New South Wales, Australia, the singer has since made her mark on Sydney’s music scene. With a new EP out this month, we asked her to lend some insight into this exciting new chapter.
Were you always interested in music?
Music has always been a big part of my life, I learnt to play the piano from about age four and have always sung. My Mum is a piano teacher so there was always music in the house, and in my teenage years I started writing.
You’re also training as a doctor, are there any parallels between medicine and music?
I’m currently in my 5th year of my medical studies, so still training! I think the biggest parallel is the connection you can make with another person. I guess they both heal people too. The thing about medicine that interests me is hearing someone’s whole story and then piecing together what the problem is – writing music is a bit like that.
How did your environment growing up inspire your sound?
I grew up on a farm and I think because it was so quiet and there was so much to explore it really inspires creativity. I like to explore space in the music I write and I think that comes from always appreciating the quiet.
You have a unique sound, and I wondered if you could talk a little about the music scene in Australia – do you think you’re working with or against the general sound at the moment?
I think I’m working with it. The Australian music scene is really booming at the moment and there are so many great artists coming out of our country. I think there’s definitely been some strength in the electronic movement which has influenced the production on my tracks, but the alternative music culture in Australia which is supported by Triple J have always championed the songwriter and so that acoustic influence is definitely there.
What were the main musical influences of this record?
We always started the recording process with really clear references in mind and they mostly came from Asgeir, The Tallest Man on Earth, Bon Iver and Volcano Choir, and Bonobo.
Do you find you write songs as a reaction to a feeling or to delve into a certain mood?
Probably both. It’s about taking hold of an idea that might be a particular emotion or circumstance and exploring it to its depths.
How are you enjoying the process of touring so far? Any mis-haps or revelations?
There’s always mishaps! I do find it a bit stressful at times but overall I love it. Getting up on stage each night and performing is certainly the best part and each time I do it reminds me why I’m going through all the hours of transit with 100kg worth of bags and eating fast food for a month in the same three outfits.
What are you looking forward to for the rest of 2016?
I’ve been really look forward to this tour to the UK, US and Canada and after that I’ll be doing a run of headline shows in Australia in support of my EP. And soon I’ll be getting back in to the studio to make some more music which is always an exciting prospect.
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