“I like the culture here [in the Barras] and stuff like that. I mean, it's a bit rough, and you go out of the studio and you see people like, absolutely wasted, and that's a bit of a concern and you don't really know what to do. But the culture itself is amazing, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, you know. It's very DIY, and that's what I'm all about as well.”

“I might have to move because I can't afford that [the rent] anymore, which breaks my heart, but that's just like reality of my practice, you know. And making out like all of us, even though I get most of my paint for free, this is a very very expensive practice, and I have a job to support this. So I'm a support worker and that's where my income comes from, and then basically, all I spend my money on is my practice. Like, I have no life outside of that, you know.”

“Being in the Barras is not important for my work necessarily, but having the markets there, that's resourceful. […] It's more the location to town that makes it really good.”

“I used to be involved in the management of the space as the curatorial editor kind of thing, but there was no curator above me, so I kind of fell into that role. And I was doing that for three months. But I had scheduling commitments basically. […] It was either that or my art practice, and this [my practice] was always going to come first. What I was going to do was put on shows. So I put on the first show […] and I had organised like a second show as well, but again, I just couldn't... there's not enough hours in the day.”

“This dream [of being an artist] isn't free, and this is what a lot of people who are not in the arts world don't understand, is how much work and love and labour actually goes into it. The emotional reward that I get when I finish an artwork it's... oh my God […] That's why I do this; [it] is because of the memories that I create for people.”

“I got into the idea that the process that an artist engages in is the most important part, and how do I represent that in a final setup. So there's always been heaps of mess in my studio, and so I decided to line the floors with wood and then make a support structure within it. […] I consider the studio, a Dieter Roth die-hard fan, like, art is life, life is art kind of thing, and that's why I present the floors and stuff like that as works. […] the process an artist goes through is completely negated in a final aesthetic. You can't see any of the labour or the love, or what actually went through that to make that.”

“I need bigger [space]. I always need bigger. [...] I could easily do [my practice] with twice the amount of space. If I had more space, I could make bigger objects, but that's just a dream. ”

“A few people have popped their heads in [my space]. To me, it [the connection to the street] is just another way, a practical way of disseminating out your art practice. […] The people who need art are the ones on the street, you know. So I love having that door, and like I said, I wish more people could come in so I could have more conversations with them and be like 'hey, what do you do?' […] this is a great way to open up conversations of what can actually be art.”