We were sipping on green tea at a café in Westfield Kotara. Rosie picked up the unused knife from the table and used it as a brush to demonstrate the chaotic nature of ink when creating her artwork.
“Sometimes I wash the paper with water and when my ink-soaked brush touches the paper it wildly blooms,” she said.
“You have to allow things to fuck up, like life.”
Rosie Turner is an up-and-coming artist who grew up among the Newcastle art community.
Rosie shared her experience as an artist in Newcastle, the pathway to a creative career and how artistic inspiration can provoke change within one’s self and within their community for the first edition of The Everyday Project.
The ‘creative child’
At times drawing inspiration from Greek mythology or surprising us with a gothic twist on Australian traditions, Rosie’s work is both intricate and bold – visually and metaphorically.
For Rosie creativity is not only her brand, but also her way of living and breathing.
“It was something that was inherent, a biological thing. I don’t feel like myself if I’m not being creative.”
It started with messy play in the driveway with her brother Roy. “Mess didn’t mean something nasty or bad, it was something that you were just doing as a kid.”
And at school, you guessed it, she was the artsy girl who was “always drawing in the notebook’s margins or volunteering to do the illustrations for every group project.”
Her final Year 12 project – a three panelled pen and ink drawing, that focused on the male beauty, had three different perspectives of her (now ex) boyfriend lying in the bath – was chosen to be displayed at the Art Gallery of NSW as part of Art Express, an exhibition of outstanding artwork from HCS students.
“I have always been comfortable in art galleries; they are a part of me. I remember standing there [at the Art Gallery of NSW] and being so excited.
I remember having this full body tingling sensation and thinking ‘this is the thing that makes me feel good. This is the thing that I want to do’. It was an epiphany moment.
“It was empowering seeing people engage with my work and loving it! I had created something quite personal and private. Exposing that was a beginning point for me to feel comfortable with sharing intimate experiences. It felt authentic being able to work with those twisty and quite personal spaces.”
And then Rosie became a famous artist and she lived happily ever after, the end.
Jokes.
Buckle in, there were a few more twists and turns before we got to see the Rosie that produced this piece that was a part of her sell out exhibition, Wishbones, in 2020.
Like many of us after finishing a university degree, the existential dread of being an adult in a society soaked in expectation sets in. After completing a Bachelor of Fine Art at the University of Newcastle Rosie asked herself that big question: ‘What now?”
Sedimentary, independent and eager: The Newcastle art scene
There is no doubt, Newcastle is picking up its game and is emerging as a cultural hub, particularly for young people. However, this hasn’t always been the case. When Rosie was starting out in the industry it was predominantly volunteer based and funding was quickly drying up.
“I think the Newcastle art scene is sedimentary, I use this word because there are different bands and layers that very rarely cross,” Rosie explains.
“You have the really young artists who are feeling their way through things. You then have early eager artists who are taking their initial steps as professionals. In the band above that you have the people who are established artists who don’t really want to play ball with the people in the sedimentary layers below.
“But I have noticed that it’s changing, which is exciting to see.”
Rosie went on to talk about the people that inspired her to persevere and throughout the interview she raved about The Onwards Studio and its contribution in reviving the Newcastle art scene.
“The Onwards Studio allows for those emerging professional creatives to form relationships, evolve, push boundaries and showcase their work. It’s not only visual art, they’re creating a community.”
Rosie also articulated her experience in the Newcastle art scene as ‘fiercely independent’ – in the sense of dedicated community-based support.
Despite these difficulties, Newcastle and its artists are eager to burst back onto the scene and in doing so are creating a personality unlike anywhere else in Australia. Rosie describes this personality as audacious, optimistic and courageous.
“I feel very lucky to be a part of it. It shaped me in becoming more resilient, having a kick-ass work ethic and leaning on your community to grow.”
Her world in black and white
Known exclusively for her work with black ink, Rosie manages to tell a story with vibrancy and depth.
Referring to her younger self as an agitator and a bit of a ‘brat’, it’s no wonder that she chooses to do the unexpected by having meaningful conversations with a minimal colour palette.
“There are no distractions of wondering if that red is too red or if that yellow is making me sick.
“It’s like I am speaking one language, a black and white language.”
Her art is often inspired by the written or spoken word. A term or phrase goes through an imaginative flirtation process, which can take moments to mature or inflate over days and weeks, to become a unique visual story. This is why we often see cryptic messaging littered throughout her work.
The explosive reaction of trauma or love often inspires Rosie’s work. She describes it as plumbing a well that’s suddenly been filled up.
“When I’m in love the inspiration is just as ferocious as when I am out of love. I can make huge amounts of work in a manic way.
Sometimes it’s what you don’t say is what speaks volumes.
“But most of all, I love it when I have a big, dirty, disgusting crush. It adds to the fun!”
Objectively, the profound nature of any artwork is the ability for the artist to allow room for the observer to add in their own story. It’s this intangible connection between the artist and their audience that Rosie describes as both thrilling and romantic.
“It’s like making out with someone on New Year’s Eve and then you never see them again, but you think about it for the rest of the year. It’s the impression you leave.
“Art is that smooch mark you leave with them.”
The patriarchy
“First of all, the male body is disgusting.”
That was Rosie’s answer to the question: Why are you drawn to depicting women in your artwork? Is it your inner feminist coming out? To put it simply, her answer was a a big fat “YES!”
“The female body has so much more going for it. It has all kinds of curves and layers and is so much more interesting to draw from.
“But on top of that, the female body has been under attack since day dot. There’s nothing but a cannon of art that has been completely hinged on the male gaze. Fuck that shit.”
As her passion rises so does the intensity in her voice. With each point she firmly presses her index finger onto the café table.
“As a woman, celebrating female bodies, especially in goddess forms, it brings me so much joy because at any given point there is some dickhead with a paintbrush who’s deciding the female body is theirs to champion and I think for a long-time women have been pushed out of art institutions for this reason. I’m not letting it happen anymore.”
Preach it sister!
Dreams
What if we had all of the resources that we ever needed to be happy? For Rosie that resource would be time.
“It’s as easy as that, just time. Many European artists exclusively live and work in a Mediterranean setting because the days are longer.
“I feel that my time is so limited, and I want to make art that adds value back into my own personal art experience. I want to make art that does more than make me feel immediately better or solving a problem.
“But for now, I am waking up every day feeling comfortable in my own skin. I feel happy waking up to the sound of cicadas whirring and knowing I am at home with my ink pot.”
Rosie’s artwork and information on her workshops can be found at https://www.rosieturnerx.com
Or
Do yourself a favour and follow her on Instagram @rosie_turnerx – trust us, it’s a daily vibe of Australian gothic femme content.
*All images supplied by Rosie Turner.
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