INFLUENCES
The music, the mythology, the imagery and the social implications of the blues affected me first when I was a teenager. There's a roughness, an immediacy, a necessity and an eloquence all captured with some basic technology and available worldwide.
The continuation of a conceptual art idea that art is everywhere and everyone is an artist. punk music could be played by anyone. Also created by simplifying the means - a kind of minimalism. Also punk graphics are still influential. Radio Birdman on the other hand played very harmonious complex music.
Aboriginal
When I first saw Papunya paintings I knew that one day I'd have to try and meet the artists. This led to many trips to Papunya, collaborations with aboriginal artists and changes in my own work.
Buddhist
I was interested in Buddhism as a teenager then in the early 90's had contact with Tibetan buddhists and began attending teachings and initiations. I also began collaborative paintings with Karma Phuntsok.
Asian
Many older asian art styles influenced my work, especially the cave paintings at Dun Huang in China. Paintings about Vietnam influenced by contact with My Le Thi and paintings about shinto and buddhist sites in Japan influenced by visits there. More recently embroidered rank badges.
UfO
Ufology is interesting because of the radically expanded world view it requires and because it relies on documentation - like performance and conceptual art - and because it does have links to older cultures.
Animation
The simplified but realistic style of Japanese anime where a series of outlined coloured in drawings are enough to create the illusion of time, space and meaning is like a development of styles used in earlier buddhist art. It allows me to include contemporary imagery without being mundane.