Watch: Forward With Chloe Smith

‘Art has the capacity to make life more bearable.’

A quote we couldn’t agree with more from the new Content Original Series ‘Forward.’ Delving into the profound journeys of creators and their way foward the series interconnects art through film. Director and producer Ben Gattegno, who knows all too well the demands of corporate commercial ventures, created the series as a way to get back to his creative roots and reconnect with artists and their craft. The first episode features artist Chloe Smith who makes beauty out of the mundane in the form of soft foods. Here’s our chat. 

How you doing Chloe? 

I’m good, how are you? 

Yeah I’m doing good, everyone is hungover in the office but I had a chill one. Going to be a slow day for some people though (laughs). Where are you at? 

I’m in Brisbane. During the week I work up here at a place called UAP, big art fabricators so we make massive sculptures and art installations for all the major galleries.. 

That’s so cool. 

Yeah it’s very fun. That’s what takes up a bit of my time during the week, but then I’m back down on the Northern Rivers. A little town out of Byron. 

How did you come about linking up with Ben? 

He actually contacted me out of the blue. I think he saw my art online and really liked it and he wanted to work together on something. 

So pretty organic?

Yeah, quite nice I really enjoy getting those kinds of emails when someone digs your stuff and wants to do something together. 

When did you start working with textile art? 

I actually started doing a lot of writing at first. That was my initial craft. Then I rented a studio when I was living in Melbourne to work on a few different projects and then started making sculptures in that space and it grew from there. I guess I really liked the tactile nature. I used to sew a lot with my grandma and make my own clothes as a teenager so it was just a progression of my sewing skills and interest in sculpture. 

On the writing thing, did you write the script for this film because it’s got some nice lines in it?

Ben and I worked on it together actually. A lot of it just came out of discussions about my art making and practice. In a way we sort of collaborated on it. 

How long does it take you to make a piece? What’s the process?

It’s different every time, it depends on what it is. Some things take months especially things that have a lot of texture and detail. Because I hand sew everything it can be pretty time-consuming. The red cabbage that I made a long time ago took a while to figure out the stripy folded-over smooshed pattern that is in a cabbage. It’s a lot of experimenting. But then I often make a pattern like a dressmaker would in flat form and work it into a 3D one. 

What materials do you primarily use? 

Usually wool and cotton, but I’ve recently become interested in working with recycled plastics to achieve different textures. 

It must take a lot of brain power to figure out what material might reflect a tangible object. It would for me anyway.

Yeah it’s fun. 

Why is the film called ‘Forward,’ is there a meaning behind that? 

That was actually Ben’s choice. It’s a part of a series of how different artists push forward with their practise. 

In the film you mention being strange. Do you embrace being strange? Or is it something you’ve fought throughout your life?

I think I only just realised it recently. I got into it with a friend and was like ‘I think people think I’m pretty weird.’ And he was like ‘yeah.’

You’re just like ‘oh okay sure,’ (laughs).

(Laughs) yeah pretty full on. As an artist, you invariably spend a lot of time on your own and so sometimes you’re not really aware of what’s going on around you. I think the more time I spent in that space, I realised I enjoyed it and I always thought people would think that I was boring because I did that but as it turns out I maybe am not. My philosophy is that the most interesting people are a bit weird. 

Absolutely. The weirdest people are the best people. My favourite people on the planet are the strangest people on the planet. 

Totally. So when my friend told me I was weird I was like okay this is a good thing.

For sure a positive. I have to ask, what is your favourite food? 

That’s a seriously hard question. 

You can give me a food group. A region.

I can tell you what I made last night that I really enjoyed. It was a mushroom and fennel tart.

Yum. That’s a good one to go out on.

Yeah let’s go with that. Yum.