Next week sees a beginning of a busy period for the At Large Gallery crew, with the first of several back to back shows opening Friday the 6th of August, in the form of Craig Poore and ADis duo show, Beautiful Strange.

ADi has done some remarkable work over the past few years, ethereal and alien, yet familiar and entrancing. With Beautiful Strange, he has taken a stripped down, bare basics approach by rendering his works in pure graphite – however this bare basics approach to materials does nothing to tone down the intricacies and details within each painstakingly rendered piece.

We were able to steal a few moments of the mans time, with his words encompassing some universe-spanning philosophical journeys,  down to earth ethos, and, of course, the nature behind his lovingly nurtured creations.

We always start off with a background question, but, also, what do you believe you would now be doing if it wasn’t for having thrown yourself into the art world?

If it wasn’t for the art I reckon something with flyfishing would be good –  but lets not imagine that.

When did you first realise that you wanted to immerse yourself into art in a serious way? Was it a gradual thing, or was it more of an epiphany moment?

Well I suppose I have always known since high school, I got sidetracked doing graphic design for quite a long time, I still painted part time and had a few collectors who pretty much purchased most pieces in the early days of the ninety’s – but it wasnt until around five years ago that I started to take it very seriously, and put a whole lot more time into my work.

Is this a full time thing for you now, and how do you find yourself situated with your time, and how you spend it these days?

I still do freelance design to bring in some constant cash-flow however this allows me time to work every day in the studio even if it is late into the night. Pretty much every spare moment is spent in the studio working, literally!

Can you tell us a little more about the themes behind the universe that your artwork conjures up in your artistic explorations?

Nice! Yeah the universe I have brought forth is often a dark place like the birth of any universe however it is littered with quite intense colour at the same time. I spent a couple of years working on a show titled “Intergalactic Alchemy”, this was probably the biggest step I took in terms of branching out from the mainstream surreal look. I spent the two years without a great deal of interaction with people and contemplated many thoughts and feelings I had on creation. I kind of came to one particular realisation that universes are created of a separation from the one (purity) into two opposing forces, through this separation chaos starts to take play and energy does it’s beautiful dance and crazy things start to happen. This in essence is really what my work is made up of. For instance with “Beautiful Strange” the works are all on paper and the pieces constructed with graphite 2H & HB only, I use the “apparent” empty space of the paper and add line work to replicate this separation and merging of the two and slowly start to build a piece using this system of two opposing forces dancing around each other. Often I have little studies of ideas which I constantly draw up real quick, normally in pen and then take them to the next level and create the final piece, which always changes substantially from the initial sketch. And so forms into this reality a place that is not usually seen externally but only felt internally.

Your work can be very science fiction in nature (that I completely love), and yet it often breaches certain indefinable lines of an organic nature – was your style formed in a conscious direction towards this or is it an organic beast based on your influences?

Yeah, this organic beast I have going stems from a love of nature. Nature appears to construct things randomly but there seems to be an underlying balance and reasoning behind the structure. I admire this freedom nature exhibits. In the new works the nature thing is really starting to define itself which is a good thing I feel. It kind of takes on a Bio Organic feel rather than the popular Bio Mechanical look. I think the sci fi thing comes into the imagery due to the uniqueness of my pieces which are in the main very alien to what people would see in artwork or in life in general, keeping in mind I do love sci fi so I am sure subconsciously this plays a part.

What are some of your favourite techniques and mediums for working within? If you could pass on one specific artistic technique to someone reading this, what would it be?

At the moment I am absorbed by graphite, it allows me such minute detail, but overall any medium serves and conjures its own beautiful life force and energy and I like exploring all possibilities. In terms of passing on technique I would prefer to believe the best thing a person can do is to find there own creative force, anyone can learn technique and with lots of time and practice get real good at it, and every person has the ability to do shit that is out of this world. As an artist, you really need to try and find your own niche, and have something different from others – to try and get your work to stand out from the amazing stuff that is out there. So I say find the archetype that is your true self, and then work the techniques into this – let it flow baby!

Your next exhibition is a duo show with Craig Poore, what are the ideas behind the exhibition, and how does the different artwork that you both produces contrast in a successful way?

“Beautiful Strange” kind of came about due to the fact Craig Poore (NZ) mainly paints the female figure “Beauty” and I paint “Strange” figures and conglomerations. What we have worked at though is capturing both of these elements within each of our works. Craig takes the truly miraculous female form and adds elements not likely found in such pieces. I take the approach that beauty is found in everything, so in these new pieces I have worked at capturing beauty in technique and narrative. I am very interested in otherworldy realms and the beautiful journeys, stories and myths that play out as such which is heavily conveyed in my work. Another perspective I also chose to pursue was to simplify the faces of the characters in order to capture simple beauty in single lines, the characters appear to contemplate and play out the narrative this way quite well. They capture your attention, and really ask you to take the time to absorb the work.

This isn’t ,by far, your first time showing, and you have had numerous works in numerous shows – what shows really stand out for you that you’ve previously participated in, and what are some of the more definitive moments in your artistic career?

Intergalactic Alchemy was probably the stand out show for me so far, as I mentioned previously I spent two years putting this body of work together and it looked amazing under one roof, through that process is where I started to harness and find my own definitive style, this new work is just another step from where I left off with IA. I have refined and constructed the work in a much tighter fashion yet on a smaller scale.

How are you enjoying your move into the infamous Blender studio? Blender has a rich history and past, but can you tell us a little more about its present?

The Blender is a really cool place to work from, the talent under that roof is amazing and very inspiring. For the last 5 years I worked from my own studio alone so I am loving the energy the place gives out.  As the name suggests it is a real mix of diverse artistic styles pretty much covering the spectrum. It is also a great place to meet people in the art scene whether they be fellow artists or collectors. The place pretty much rocks every day!

You recently participated in the re-vitalisation of the artwork down in Union Lane, can you tell us a bit about your work down there and your thoughts in general on the project?

Union Lane was cool, I don’t often paint the streets anymore. With the Union project I wanted to experiment with my newer styles and see how it would interlock with classic graff techniques. I think it worked well under the time frames permitted. In the main my work takes ridiculous amounts of time to complete, the weekend I worked it rained heaps so I had to keep stopping but I reckon I could have spent another 4 days working on the piece. It is great that the City of Melbourne is recognising the value and beauty in street art, the amount of people who came down during the project asking questions and showing interest is phenomenal, and we are talking all age groups, from fifteen to sixty five.

Talking of street art, what are your favorite aspects and thoughts on working with art in public spaces, as opposed to working on pieces for gallery shows?

I love the studio as it allows me the time to contemplate and mess around with various ideas, it is quite meditative. In contrast, public works have a whole different feel, they have a real energy to them which is great!

What does the rest of the year hold for you, and are you already looking forward to new projects?

I always have plenty of commission work, but I have a few other things in the pipeline which I cant mention at the moment –  but if all goes to plan some great stuff will be coming out by the end of the year, and it won’t be what anybody will expect or foresee. I also have some great ideas for the next body of work, but I don’t think that will come together for another year or so.

ADi will be showing a collection of his recent work with Craig Poore at Beautiful Strange, opening next week. Check out ADi’s website for more info, and also take a look at the At Large gallery for further bits and pieces on this show and others.