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Everyone is so insistent on telling you what you<br />
can’t do in life – you can’t surf, you can’t take your<br />
dog, you can’t stay in your van. If there is a rule<br />
that hasn’t been made yet, they put it on a sign.<br />
After living in a tent in Byron, Tyler<br />
said he travelled to New Zealand<br />
and lived in the mountains near<br />
Tongariro Alpine Crossing, where<br />
every morning was like walking out<br />
the back door and seeing a volcano<br />
in his backyard.<br />
“When Covid came along in 2020,<br />
I was required to head back to<br />
Australia, which turned out to be<br />
the best thing that ever happened<br />
to me, because I got back and had<br />
access to money. So I bought a<br />
van and then just started travelling<br />
the east coast of Australia while<br />
dodging lockdowns. Everyone else<br />
had to stay home, but I was free,<br />
so I went all the way to the top of<br />
Australia and back.<br />
“It was bizarre, because I went<br />
through Cape Tribulation and there<br />
were a lot of people in vans and<br />
being nomadic, but no tourists.<br />
I also remember driving to Airlie<br />
Beach and just being wowed,<br />
because there was all this beautiful<br />
blue water but no one around.”<br />
Tyler’s art is best described as<br />
psychedelic snapshots of Australian<br />
surf culture, with each having a<br />
meaningful message behind its<br />
madness. A great example is a<br />
beautiful piece of his depicting<br />
whales being taken away by UFO’s<br />
over a desert. He explained it was<br />
about aliens taking their pets back<br />
home before humanity made them<br />
extinct, which gave an impactful<br />
meaning behind its title, ‘Homeward<br />
Bound’. Tyler’s soft spot for whales<br />
and their conservation is seen in<br />
many of his pieces, as well as his<br />
advocacy for more freedom on<br />
Australian beaches.<br />
“My favourite piece would probably<br />
be the one with all of the signs.<br />
Everyone is so insistent on telling<br />
you what you can’t do in<br />
life – you can’t surf,<br />
you can’t take your<br />
dog, you can’t stay<br />
in your van. If there<br />
is a rule that hasn’t<br />
been made yet,<br />
they put it on a sign.<br />
Seeing the signs and<br />
people breaking the<br />
rules right next to<br />
them always gives me<br />
a bit of a laugh and inspires<br />
heaps of my canvasses.<br />
95 / #55 / <strong>SB</strong>
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