Artist: Malcolm Hundley
Painting: Walle at the Wharf #11
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Size: 30cm (W) x 20cm (H)
Year: 2022
Introducing: Malcolm
What a delight it was chatting with Malcolm and learning about what inspires his art. Pour yourself a cuppa and discover below!
What’s your coffee order?
Oat milk latte mostly, and the occasional cappuccino.
Where can you view her work?
My website, my Instagram page, exhibitions I have at the Early Work gallery every year or so. I have an exhibition at Terrace Greenhouse gallery early in December. Occasionally, I’ll have representation in a group exhibition. I usually have some artworks for sale on my website so just check there for the latest.
Why did you choose this piece of artwork for the cup?
Two reasons. The first, very practical reason, I thought it looked good on a cup. Secondly, it is a good representation of my work and where I am at the moment.
I’m producing a lot of pictures based on Fremantle. I live here, so I like to think I know the place very well. In this piece I have depicted one of the regular visitors to Fremantle’s port. These ships are so still and so large. They dominate that particular part of the Fremantle landscape. A lot of people see them as they ride on the train going to work in the morning. These ships are very impressive and a very much part of the landscape for many people.
My main motivation with my art is to connect with the viewer. I want them to see something that maybe they haven’t reflected on in any deep way before. At the very least I hope it simply encourages them just to stop and contemplate.
For example, my piece on the parking meter. That’s a thing that a lot of people deal with in a very frustrated way because of the non intuitive way it operates. It’s the everyday. Things I know. Things I see. And the things other people know and see.
What is the story behind this piece of art?
This is a subject I really enjoy painting – that part of the Wharf where the Wallenius Wilhelmsen ships regularly berth. It’s also the view I see when I go on my occasional run in the mornings through Merv Cowan park in East Fremantle.
I have completed a series of paintings featuring these ships. The first harbour painting featuring them was three years ago and I’m still doing them. Maybe I’ve become a bit obsessed.. There’s about half a dozen specifically of the Wilhelmsen ships. They all have slight variations, in their name and colours. They are a part of the changing scenery in that part of Fremantle.
My artwork seeks to encourage the viewer to contemplate the ordinary. Because there’s often interest, beauty and humour in the ordinary things around us.
I focus on urban landscape because it reflects our efforts to create something in the world that’s either useful, interesting or beautiful. We do our best to make our everyday landscape attractive and beautiful. Sometimes it’s a mess when we do that, but regardless, it’s a marker to where we’ve been.
A series I produced in my last exhibition was called Signs Of Life – Fremantle. It included 17 paintings of marks made by others. Humans have a need to make a mark. It’s innate within many of us to want to make a mark for any number of purposes. These can range from formal, commercially designed signs such as the illuminated Cicerellos sign right through to more informal signs such as the chalkboard outside Galatis in Wray Avenue announcing the weekly special. Then there is the mark we make through anger or frustration such as the scrawl on the face of a parking meter. We can all be mark makers.
What appealed to you about this project?
The main thing is seeing my artwork in a form that I never had really expected. That’s fantastic.
Why is it important to support the arts?
There’s a practical answer to that. Firstly, the world is facing many, many problems at the moment and art encourages people to think in creative ways. We want people to think beyond the way we’ve done things in the past, what we need to change and we need creative answers to get there. It is about interpreting the world through a different set of eyes.
Also, we have an innate desire to think symbolically. Art is an opportunity for people to express themselves; it’s in our nature. Painting, literature, dance and other forms of art all help us to think and act creatively. It’s one of the things that defines us as human.
My advice for those who are wanting to get into the arts is to just do it. Honestly, I have encountered so many people coming through my business who often talk about eventually getting around to exhibiting their work but don’t feel quite ready. It’s just a question of becoming more confident, taking the plunge and being prepared to take the opportunities as they arise. My advice is to just do it. It’s the only way you’re going to get there. Just take it as it comes.