So Far + Owl

A few people have been asking about this work, so thought i'd elaborate.

'So Far' is made from the t-shirt i was wearing when i gave birth to Ramona (albeit cleaned up).
The owl is a powerful owl that Tobias taxidermied himself, and Ramona loves it. She was carrying it around for quite some time, until finally, the head lolled so awkwardly that it nearly fell off and was making me dry retch, so i hid it.

Get Us Out Of Here

Hayley West & Tobias Richardson
c3 contemporary art space: Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne, Australia
21st November – 9th December 2012

Hayley West & Tobias Richardson work apart for this project; from the Blue Mountains and Ethiopia respectively. A collaboration processed from two different everyday realities; being homebound and travelling freely. What results is an everyday account of living and working a month apart. Having recently moved from Darwin Northern Territory, West & Richardson now find their feet in an awkward terrain, living momentarily in NSW.

6 weeks in Ethiopia

Not me, but Tobias is away in Ethiopia for 6 weeks. Today is my first day without him here, and Ramona is in childcare...

I've set up my studio in the kitchen, ready to roll. Having Liam Benson here interviewing me recently (for 'Time & Vision', the OzCo Residency/ACME UK project) has got me keen to pick up the pieces again.

We have an exhibition at c3 Contemporary Artspace in Melbourne in November, the exhibition title is: Get Us Out Of Here

I have 6 weeks to put something together...  

Art of the Nomad

The Chan Contemporary Art Space, Darwin

April 18 – May 18 2012 opening Wednesday April 18, 6pm

Image: Hayley West, 'So Far' 2012
(wedding dress from Yogyakarta/tablecloth from Paris)

Artists: Rod Moss, Sia Cox, Rupert Betheras, J9, Ben Ward, Suzi Lyon, Hayley West, Simon Cooper, Siying Zhou, Leanne Waterhouse, Henry Smith, Ian Hance, Bronwyn Wright, Bill Davies, Chips MacKinolty, Franck Gohier and Colin Holt.

Curators: Sarah Pirrie, Siying Zhou, Suzi Lyons, Leanne Waterhouse, Anna Reynolds, Chips MacKinolty and Chris Raja. 

“artists who have deliberately left a mark on the Territory as an explicit part of their practice” Chips MacKinolty

the bump in my road

The transition from Darwin to the Blue Mountains has been quite difficult. Aside from trying to keep creativity up since Ramona was born, this relocation has proven to be a huge bump in my life. Thankfully we have a house with a good roof, and the magpies keep singing. If only this southern summer could rest for more than two days before all the leaves start turning.

I'm working at the moment on a sculpture for a show called 'Art of the Nomad' in Darwin in April, but really all I want to do is spend hours drawing, which is not really achievable at this point in time. Tobias's show is approaching at RAFT in Alice Springs, I can't wait to be touching the desert.