Smorgasboarder_23_Feb_2016-s

LATEST: ARTISTS & GENERALLY CREATIVE FOLKS
“What really drives
my art especially now
is that it has to be
relevant to my life.
It has to fit right.”
initially when we returned was just pent up because we
were travelling for so long and when I got here I just cut
loose. I made a lot of stuff and as that expression started
coming out, I started to refine it to be more in line with
what is relevant to my life now.”
Now in viewing some of Brett’s work, if you are like
me, you are no doubt wondering what’s behind Brett’s
seeming penchant for sharks. I was keen to know
whether it was out of fascination or fear or if he had a
particular encounter with one of our ocean-going friends.
“If you see a shark as a surfer you are blessed as they
are quite elusive. The catalyst that caused me to make
a lot of shark art was through an experience I had. I
was fishing off the point here and we were waste-deep
in water. There was a school of salmon and a wave
stood up on a little suck-up reef out there and a perfect
silhouette of a 3-4 metre Great White shark appeared.
We were only 15-20 meters away and you could clearly
see it going so fast through the wave. In a second it just
shot through and ripped up the school of salmon and that
image stuck in my head. That is when I decided to make
that Great White shark (made of tin cans). I wanted to
pay it homage. That is also the reason why I did it about
the same size. It was good making it and wrapping my
arms around it and working on it with my hands. I got
a feel for it. That shark is now outside the front of my
house and when people see it they can approach it. It
spins around and it moves. It freaks some people out but
it gives them an opportunity to get close to it and see it
for what it is.”
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SMORGASBOARDER | SUMMER 2016