Interview – Joshua Smith

Joshua Smith is a busy man; between coordinating exhibitions, teaching creative classes, fundraising through art auctions and opening hugely anticipated gallery spaces, he somehow also manages to create artworks with a larger-than-life visual effect.

Drawing inspiration from varying cultural aspects of classic film, Japanese culture and well, anything that proves awesome to look at, Joshua showcases his works on both local and international stages. Just as importantly, he is also the proud owner of the newly founded Espionage Gallery in Adelaide. With two successful shows down already, Espionage will also play host this week to an amazing group show, a fundraiser to provide donations to the Japanese Red Cross -  Uchiwa Fan.

Invurt were quite stoked when this creative busy-bee agreed to an interview – and here it is, enjoy!

How did you start out as a stencil artist? Was it something you fell into or something you woke up and just decided to do one day?

I started out as a stencil artist at about the age of fourteen or fifteen – when I was still in high school. I grew up in the country but I’d come to Adelaide every weekend and see the stickers and stencils going up around the place. I started having a go at making stickers and stencils myself. At first it was just something to do and was a hobby, now I have made a career out of it!

You grew up in a coastal town (I have to admit I googled it!!).  Was it easy for a country kid to say, "Hey! I’m gonna move to the city and be an artist!”?

It was pretty strange for someone growing up in a small country town to be interested in doing art, let alone stencil art. I wasn’t doing normal country things like playing football or cricket but I didn’t care what anyone thought. It was pretty easy to make the shift from country to city as I had a lot of artists supporting me in Adelaide,  despite the fact that I was very young.

You say you have a love for Japanese Monster Movies and B grade 50s films – why do you think they influence you so much and what else in the past has helped inspire your work?

I think classic movies in particular inspire me as the characters in the movies are quite memorable. I am a huge fan of movies, especially classic films so it reflects in my artwork. I also draw inspiration from other artists as well as the world around me.

Your work is quite intricate as far as stencilling goes – how long does each piece take? Can you tell us a bit about the process?

My artwork can take anywhere from 10 hours to 250 hours to complete depending on the amount of layers as well as the complexity of the design.

My process usually works like this: I think up a theme, research the theme as much as possible, find a model and make up artist/hair stylist/fashion stylist if needed and then do the photo shoot. I take all my own photos and art direct the shoot to get the exact shots I need. I then find the best shots and redraw the images all as vector designs. I then hand-cut every stencil and then spray-paint it onto canvas or whatever. Most people don’t know the amount of work I put into a piece until I tell them the whole process behind a single image!

I can see a lot of your work has a bit of oooh la la sex appeal.  What is it about the female form do you think that makes it look so good in art?

I have always been drawn to the female form as a big form of inspiration (as like many artist before me!). I love the beauty of the female form and capturing it in my artwork.

Your collaborative piece at Jive Nightclub in Adelaide looks amazing (it’s a mural covering the walls of the premises).  What was it like working with a bunch of other artists on the same project?

The Jive nightclub mural was a lot of fun to work on. Initially I was approached by one of my friends Chris Edser who asked if I was interested in working on a collaborative project and I jumped at the chance. Working as an artist, it’s very easy to focus on your own work so its good to take any opportunity to work with other artists as it makes you think outside of the square. It’s good to see how each other works and take inspiration from it.

As well as showcasing your work nationally, you’ve also had work shown in Japan.  How was that? Japan certainly has a wicked creative culture!

Having my artwork in shows in Japan was awesome! I have a strong interest in Japan and it’s culture as it has a very rich history. I was also recently involved in a pretty big show in St. Louis, USA with some pretty big names including C215, Logan Hicks, Koleszar, and a whole stack of other stencil artists.

Can you tell us a bit more about Espionage – what made you decide you wanted to open your own gallery?

I decided to open the Espionage Gallery as I have been doing my stencil work for 11 years now and looking at doing something a bit different. I had been teaching stencil art to a range of groups including refugees, disadvantaged youth and school holiday workshops and wanted to run workshops at the gallery space. I also wanted to give fresh artists the chance to exhibit their work in a more professional manner and not have to start exhibiting through bars or cafes.

How has the whole experience with Espionage been so far, and what do you have planned for the rest of the year with the gallery?

So far in the last three months the gallery has showcased two exhibitions, the first of which was the grand opening which showcased twenty four artists and over thirty six works. More recently ,we had the opening for Day & Night a photography exhibition featuring seven of Adelaide’s best photographers. Both exhibitions have been really well received and we’ve had packed out exhibitions.

Coming up next we have a fundraiser exhibition for the Japanese disaster. I have bought 50 blank Japanese fans and am giving these out to 50 artists to paint, which we’ll then auction off and donate the money to the Red Cross. Also coming up at the gallery we have another seven exhibitions for the year including a solo show by Gary Seaman, a zombie exhibition and an International Stencil Art exhibition just to name a few.

How is the street and underground art scene in Adelaide these days?

The Adelaide art scene is going pretty strong at the moment. I remember back in the early 2000s there was a massive underground art scene, especially involving sticker and stencil art. At this stage, most artists have migrated to Melbourne. Adelaide is now gaining momentum though, with small galleries opening up, and more support for street artists as well as council support for murals.

What else does Josh Smith have planned for the year, besides running a fantastic new gallery?

Besides running the gallery I am still working on my own artwork and have a group exhibition in June. I have a Solo exhibition in August both at 19 Karen Gallery on the Goldcoast. I’ll be in more group exhibitions this year both locally and overseas, but the gallery now keeps me pretty busy!

Check out the Espionage website here, as well as galleries facebook page and the Uchiwa Fan event.