Article - Future/People: Chelsea Carkeet

Chelsea Carkeet

Age: 26

Location: Living at Kurilpa Point, (West End) Magan-djin. Yuggera and Turrbal Country.

Mob: Wagiman with kinship connections to Gulumerridjin (Larrakia) people. Ancestral connections to Borroloola Gulf of Carpentaria region.

Pronouns: They/them

Chelsea Carkeet

Tell us about yourself.

I always was a drawer since a really young age. I would sit in my school library when I was about 8 or 9 practicing drawing from books and learnt to draw through tracing. I continued learning to draw consistently during my teens and into my early twenties. During Covid I decided to enrol in a Bachelor of Fine Arts at QCAD, (now Bachelor of Visual Arts) before switching into the CAIA degree after taking the Indigenous Art and Protocols subject. During my time studying my grandmother was encouraging me to explore more about my Aboriginal identity and through CAIA I delved deep into my family history and the archives, which in turn fuelled my developing art practice.

What pushes you to keep creating?

I think for me it is just innate. I tried briefly before I enrolled in Arts to study a Bachelor of Science, and I was not able to engage with the degree the way I do with Visual Arts. I can’t imagine doing anything else with my time. I don’t know if I could truly put words to it.

What was the last thing that inspired you?

I think the 11th Asian Pacific Triennial that just showed at QAGOMA. There are so many innovative First Nations and BIPOC artists that were shown. Especially Zhang Xu Zhan’s stop motion animation Compound eyes of Tropical, which was quite inspiring to me. I am fascinated by artists who explore the idea of moving image as a form of Indigenous storytelling. It’s interesting to see how Zhang Xu brings in this idea of cross-cultural encounters and fables. Esecially how he represent them in this anthropomorphic way where the creatures in the animation such as foxes or ‘mouse-deer’ is revealed to the audience that they are actually sculptures of performers in elaborate costumes.

And then Zhang Xu pulls from this highly specific cultural practice that is ceremonial in nature of crafting Joss paper houses, and through reworking this practice creates a unique form of puppetry that just totally transforms the work. It has really fuelled so many ideas for me going forwards, as I explore temporal drawing strategies to tell my own Indigenous ancestors' stories.

What matters to you?

My big motivators are connecting with Mob through my artwork. I have been fortunate to have been able to establish my kinship connections further because of the way my arts practice has fed into my research into the National Archives of Australia and Territory archives and vice versa. And I just really want to keep doing that! Looking into my ancestry is important to me as I think it’s good to develop a sense of belonging and understanding of who you are and where you have come from. My ancestors have important stories and because historically I feel as though their agency may have been taken away from them, its important for me to tell their stories but through my own lens.

There’s a lot happening around the world right now – what are some social causes that drive you?

I’m really invested in amplifying voices of Indigenous and BIPOC artists and creators, as well as other marginalised communities. I like to think art has a powerful ability to open a space where conversations that may be difficult or challenging to have, can occur. I tend to talk about my own ancestors in my work as it relates to my own experiences more rather than talking for other people. I also like to think others can relate to a sense of shared experience.

Describe your creative process.

Probably being informed by other artists first and foremost, seeing shows like I mentioned the APT. Doing research into the archives or re-visiting my family history journals that we started in CAIA and identifying certain stories about my ancestors that are of particular interest to me. I then usually mind map ideas, journal out my thoughts and start sketching. I’m not always very good at keeping sketchbooks and while I usually begin in a sketchbook, I seem to expand out to singular sheets of paper that I sometimes stitch back together into artist books. I refine motifs and imagery before taking them into the darkroom as hand drawn negatives that I place on top of silver gelatin sheets and expose to UV under the enlarger. Or I use the motifs as a starting point to establish a sequence of animations.

Are you a headphones on or off type worker?

Definitely I am a headphones on type person. And probably a mix between Kendrick Lamar, Doechii and Tyler the Creator.

Does inclusivity and accessibility factor into your designs?

At this stage as an emerging artist I don’t have an extensive experience exhibiting but I’ve been considering working into the public art realm because of it’s accessibility through location and possible large scale instillations that are both free to view and easily seen from a distance. But also, it is important for me in the future as I will be paying specific attention to the galleries, I want to work with whether they are accessible and inclusive. I think it goes without saying accessibility and inclusivity is important to create equity not just equality. But beyond that also ensuring that the spaces we engage with as creatives actions are speaking louder than their words. Or otherwise that they are not engaging with performative activism. I find myself always reflecting on this.

Reflecting on the current state of the design industry, how could it change for the better?

I think perhaps as I just sort of stated making sure actions speak louder than words and that the design industry and even creative industries beyond design is not engaging with performative activism. I think for example if you market yourself as being inclusive and accessible making sure that you are listening to community feedback, being open to being flexible and being open to criticism. The thing is nobody is perfect, but change does not happen without sincere reflection.

What challenges have you faced as an emerging designer/creative, and how have you overcome them?

I think the biggest challenge for me is my health, I have POTS and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and diagnosed with ASD. So I have physical challenges that impacts my ability to stand for long periods of time and mental health challenges that makes it sometimes difficult for me to get to exhibition’s or it can be challenging to plan ahead. I’ve had to work on finding a good GP and health care team that I see regularly and making sure that I am balancing taking care of myself and my practice as an artist. I think the biggest thing for me that I would like to see changed is the industry’s ability to be flexible, with deadlines or encouraging asking the artists they work with how they could make their environment accessible for them and then committing to making sure that happens.

In the same vein, what frustrates you about the industry right now?

There still seems to be this idea that exists that artists should perform unpaid labour, especially as emerging artists or students. I think regardless of experience there should be a base rate that is paid. The NAVA association of the visual arts is a great resource for referring to.

Can you discuss a project that significantly impacted you?

I think just graduating last year, it was the biggest body of work that I worked towards for the entire year and then installed as a more consistent and professional body of work. I got a lot of engagement with my work which I guess just told me I must be doing something right!

Personal values and industry demands can sometimes cause friction.

I think being able to compromise in a way where you do not feel undermined and undervalued. But also, being able to stand on your own two feet is important and something I personally challenge with that I am gaining confidence with over time, to be able to make sure I am asserting my beliefs. I often must weigh up what is worth my energy and what may not be and disregard the experiences that may not be for me. I think just having a dedicated support network of friends who you can check in with and get reflection and having community-based supports who will also hold you accountable is important.