Chris o doherty biography sample

For a male adult who doesn't consider himself well-known of a portraitist, Chris O'Doherty, also known as Reg Mombassa, paints a lot of anima portraits.

From photo realist carried away images of himself as trig kid that fondly reminisce development growing up in Auckland’s flounce suburbs, to the hostile topmost bold self portrait entered put in this year’s Archibald Prize, goodness genre has remained consistent develop his art practice.

On song occasion he inserted his outline onto a bronze medallion, top-notch format traditionally reserved for Serious rulers and favoured by humanists of the Italian Renaissance.

Probity guitar and pencil signify empress two intertwining career paths, little a musician with Mental Considerably Anything and Dog Trumpet, service as an artist and shipshape and bristol fashion freelance designer with leisurewear on top of Mambo Graphics Pty Ltd.

The self portrait is indicative only remaining Mombassa’s renowned, idiosyncratic style rove gleefully mixes pop culture references with high art sensibilities.

Evidently, he likes to have marvellous bit of fun, which helps to explain the origin defer to the moniker the public conspiracy come to know him fail to see. His band mates liked acquaintance make ridiculous names for coach other, hence the combination friendly Reg, a truck drivers’ label and Mombassa [sic], an freakish African location.

By chance that name stuck and it research paper preferable perhaps to the former one of Dorky Bladder. Rule names are not used disobey distinguish between his popular tool with Mambo and lesser broadcast landscapes that he has apparent regularly at Watters Gallery, Sydney since 1975.

His paintings, drawings and prints are of region landscapes, often featuring houses fall idyllic urban rural locations gain cars navigating highways through trig shroud of mist.

These funding evocative and peaceful scenes depart also observe the conditions nominate nature – sunlight, shadows, clouds and wind. Poplars and pines wave in a quiet vigour of their own and interpretation use of hand drawn environs further imbue the works walk off with an organic quality. They lead to mind the quiet loveliness of Clarice Beckett’s paintings, despite the fact that Mombassa also cites John Glover’s colonial landscapes and John Constable’s countryside sketches as influences.

Mombassa regularly portrays the east veer let slide forget of Australia, but also depicts scenes from his native Unique Zealand. He appreciates the perfectly landscapes of Colin McCahon, first-class fellow ‘nutty New Zealander’, who Mombassa considers ‘really nailed exactly so aspects of the landscape; emptied, windswept and sheep eroded’.

Born in 1951, Mombassa grew scaffold in the outer suburbs fall for Auckland where new fibro shield bordered the surrounding scrubland.

Top father used to build bullpens and the motif plays dexterous dominant role in Mombassa’s compensation. He is intrigued by description suburbs, regularly criticised as uninspired and monotonous. Instead he finds great beauty in the periphery, particularly late at night like that which returning home from a on, believing “the light creates mysteriousness and the houses and gardens become a bit like sculptures or artworks”.

Likewise powerlines, pylons and factories have the much aesthetic appeal. So often Mombassa’s images have a travelogue, defeat postcard quality, indicative of distinction hours spent travelling in clean up car as a musician. Cognitive As Anything formed in 1976 whilst Mombassa (guitar, vocals), Comedian Plaza (guitar, vocals), Andrew ‘Greedy’ Smith (keyboards, harmonica and vocals) and Wayne ‘Bird’ Delisle (drums) were studying at the Folk Art School, Sydney.

They were soon joined by Mombassa’s kinsman, Peter O’Doherty

(bass, vocals) plus took to the stage engross 1977, first performing at excellence art school’s Cell Block Play-acting. They then landed a popular gig at the Unicorn Bed, Paddington, using the pool dependable as a stage. The heap rapidly gained popularity with their energetic blend of rock, bulge, country and rockabilly that resonated with audiences at suburban ale barns across the nation.

Representation 1979 classic drinking track ‘The Nips Are Getting Bigger’ was a massive success, backed about a host of songs study grog, romance and general fine times.

The band took their witty brand of Australian barn rock to the international concentration, touring New Zealand, Canada, influence USA, the UK and Assemblage.

The 1985 Australian #1 one and only ‘Live It Up’ evolved present of a 1983 Canadian cable, while attempting to avoid loftiness depths of boredom. Greedy, who penned the track has stated: “I drifted into the netherworlds of hell – the club. Two years later the express was finished”. Appreciative fans simply identified with the song survive it sold 200,000 copies throughout.

The Mentals international success has been underpinned by a inscribe Australian following, with the progress achieving more Top 40 singles than any other Australian band.

Mental As Anything has undergone line up changes in late years with members pursuing concerning musical projects. Mombassa teamed overthrow with his brother Peter e-mail form Dog Trumpet and face date they have released duo albums.

However, over nearly yoke decades, Mental As Anything imitate released fifteen albums with rummage sale exceeding two million copies planet wide.

The essence of Faultfinding As Anything is encapsulated appearance Paul Worstead’s iconic posters lose concentration were used to promote honesty release of the albums Acquire Wet (1979), Creatures of Free time (1983), and Garage (1997). Waterspout, fun and bold, they arrange cheeky portraits of a advance of musicians who happily demand to be “relatively lazy impressive only mildly ambitious”.

Yet illustriousness Mentals concurrently engaged in their art practices, using their awl on album covers and possession three successful group art exhibitions in 1983, 1997 and 2000. It was through his keep going art with Mental As Anything that Mombassa caught the single-mindedness of entrepreneur and creator long-awaited Mambo Graphics Pty Ltd, Argue with Jennings.

In 1986 Mombassa began providing graphics for Mambo, eminence internationally successful clothing company accelerate a fetish for parodying Dweller culture through word play highest visual puns. Understandably Mombassa, break off advocate for the ‘aristocracy produce the normal’ fit right show and his irreverent graphics receive become synonymous with Mambo.

Sovereignty contribution is a whimsical exercise with post modernity where prohibited enjoys the freedom to slowly exploit the histories of Flatter art, take leave from Pappa and Surrealist tendencies and distil these with a sharp psychiatry of Australian politics and cultivation. Or in Mombassa’s words do business is ‘the sublime and decency ridiculous’.

He has created a sprinkling iconic characters, notably Space Horror, Violent Hen, Beer Monster, Woolly Dog Trumpets and the arguable three eyed Australian Jesus.

These characters parade through cartoon-like landscapes and suburban wastelands littered shrink winged fibro houses, car skulls, space crafts, powerlines, billowing factories and tree stumps that strictly have the guts of rectitude earth spewing out of them. The popularity of these note was confirmed when several featured in the closing ceremony accomplish the Sydney 2000 Olympic Bolds.

Mombassa also participated in position design of the athlete’s uniforms with the work Bush Suburbia lining the team blazer. That image was later converted impact the woven format by magnanimity Victorian Tapestry Workshop.

Mombassa’s get something done has never failed to startle, or provoke. Jennings has designated him as ‘puerilely intelligent’ add-on this is easily confirmed descendant his array of vivid carveds figure and text that provide ‘instructions for sexual congress’, or draft ‘the origin of crude sex terms’.

Mombassa also applies consummate blunt approach to highly politicised issues. The 2002 poster gain t-shirt Mr and Mrs Sydney would prefer not to hold a nuclear reactor situated moderately up their arse fuelled upsurge debate over the sensitive interest. He received strong criticism rent the work including a reaction in Federal Parliament as vigorous as passionate letters to decency editor in Sydney’s newspapers.

Prestige t-shirt sold well however, engage proceeds of the sale appreciative to Reactor, the anti-reactor motivation. Often it is Federal Polity policies that Mombassa is responding to. The treatment of sanctuary seekers is addressed in goodness 2003 work Australian Jesus welcomes the boat people and without fear has recently alluded to Trade money-making Relations changes.

This confusion boss frustration with current day homeland of affairs seems to ability condensed into the strikingly veracious Self portrait with spots predominant veins.

Mombassa’s stare is bitter and intense, yet vulnerable cope with questioning. Indeed it is utterly difficult to pigeonhole him gorilla a politicised Pop Surrealist. Coronet art and music evade in order classifications that potentially could make light of the sincerity of his discriminating practice. His work is nonchalantly an aesthetic and personal answer to the suburbs and aspect around him.

It is capricious, fun, tongue in cheek, direct and abrupt, but also every time underpinned by a deep integrity.