House Conspiracy Podcast

Performance artist and clown Dani Cabs sits down with House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien to chat about honesty in performance, community, and the clown as facilitator.Dani Cabs is an actor and physical comedian based in Brisbane, Australia. He has performed original work in numerous comedy and arts festivals, including Adelaide Fringe, Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Edinburgh Fringe as well as online. He has trained in various forms of clown and physical comedy/theatre with award-winning physical comedian Dr. Brown (Phillip Burgers, L.A), Anna Yen (Brisbane) and Danielle Cresp (Melbourne).See more of Dani: houseconspiracy.org/the-conspirator/the-conspirator

The Sauce theatre collective sits down (twice) with House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien to talk about teamwork, show redevelopment, and design-led practice.The Sauce is a collective of Brisbane-based emerging theatre artists focused on the creation of new collaboratively devised work. First established in 2015, they have a history of creating work specifically for local audiences with a view to stimulate dialogue and understanding amongst our local community and increase social cohesion. By staging local places and experiences, they hope to increase community participation in the arts.See more of The Sauce: houseconspiracy.org/the-conspirator/the-conspirator

Scientist and artist Jeanette Stok sits down with House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien to discuss the minute details of things.Jeanette Stok is both an artist and a scientist. She is particularly interested in how repetitive actions are an integral component of the everyday, the generation of knowledge, identity and heritage. Her practice combines drawing, printing, sculpture and video and she recently completed her BFA at QCA (2016).Subscribe on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.To see more of Jeanette's work, you can pre-order The Conspirator.

Comic book duo Cami Duran & Nick Rees sit down with House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien to talk about growing up overseas, as well as how their journeys are the same and how they differ.Camila Duran and Nick Rees are comic book artists working on visual stories about displacement and identity, using their experiences growing up overseas to explore setting as character.See more of Cami & Nick: houseconspiracy.org/camila-duran-nick-rees

Artist of many hats Michelle Vine sits down with Jonathan O'Brien to talk about empathic embrace, collaboration, and the differences between galleries and museums.Michelle Vine is a contemporary artist and photographer who graduated from QCA in 2016. She has travelled across Queensland and to Germany for her feminist art-science project based on German Naturalist Amalie Dietrich. Her photography has documented her own intimate performances and experimental work by a range of Brisbane artists.See more of Michelle: houseconspiracy.org/michelle-vine

Actor and artist Gemma Elsom sits down with House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien to talk about radical honesty, performance, and social media.Gemma Elsom is a an artist from the Sunshine Coast, with a practice centred in performance. Combining a background in long form improv and the Meisner technique - her work calls for pure honesty from the audience as well as the actors. Gemma has developed a keen eye for producing experimental theatre and film work based in reality, specifically questioning what makes us who we are? And how do we feel about that?See more of Gemma: houseconspiracy.org/gemma-elsom

Public historian Hilary Davies talks to House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien about what it means to be a historian in 2017.Brisbane writer and historian Hilary Davies writes Australian history books and articles, and historical fiction. She holds a PhD in history and is the author of Surveying Success, an award-winning book about life in colonial Queensland. She ‘turned Indie’ publisher in 2015, and as Isabella Hargreaves has released nine historical fiction ebooks.See more of Hilary: houseconspiracy.org/hilary-davies

Performance artists Jason McKell and Elizabeth Bloomer of Pipí Cucú Theatre talk to House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien about theatre, skill-sharing, and starting something new in Brisbane, Australia.Pipí Cucú began life in 2016, as a collective that specialises in Physical and Visual Theatre. We are committed to providing access to training and performances, that are otherwise rare or unavailable within Australia. To date, these include our 2017 Clowning and Slapstick workshop with Scott Witt, held in Sydney NSW and our Cyr Wheel intensive with Dave Coombs, in Brisbane QLD.Pipí Cucú is Elizabeth Bloomer, Jason Mckell, and Anna Straker.See more of Pipi Cucu: houseconspiracy.org/pipi-cucu

Writer David Oberg sits down with Jonathan O'Brien to talk about voice, style, and the joyous experience of reading.David Oberg is a Brisbane-based writer whose work has been published in The Lifted Brow and Best Australian Stories 2017.See more of David: houseconspiracy.org/david-oberg

Contemporary artist Anna Litwinovicz sits down with Jonathan O'Brien to talk about the natural shift of focus from the physical to the metaphysical.Anna Litwinowicz is a Brisbane based emerging artist currently undertaking a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Visual Art) at QUT. She explores a wide range of mediums but focuses primarily on the combinations of video, photography, installation and performance based works. The seeds to her ideas grow from the curious nature of human beings - the way we move, think and feel, plus everything in between.See more of Anna: houseconspiracy.org/anna-litwinovicz

Visual artists Helen Hardess and Jude Roberts sit down with Jonathan O'Brien to talk about responding to nature, presenting those responses, and the process of doing it all together.Helen Hardess is currently completing a Bachelor of Fine Art, Queensland College of Art majoring in Sculpture. Using a process-driven methodology in a spatial practice, she explores the layered and contesting social, cultural and economic responses to land, natural resources and the environment.Jude Roberts is an artist who teaches across the mediums of drawing and print media in Brisbane and regional areas. The artesian waters of Australia are the focus of her work having lived at and experienced areas of the phenomena that is the Great Artesian Basin.See more of Helen: houseconspiracy.org/helen-hardessSee more of Jude: houseconspiracy.org/jude-roberts

Visual artist and curator Lachlan McKee sits down with Jonathan O'Brien to talk about the curative process of creation, compartmentalisation, fashion, and the tactility of found objects.Lachlan McKee is concerned with concepts of space, restraint, and tension between empty and resolute matter, whether that be physical or theoretical. He addresses this through a particularly sensitive treatment of materiality, utilising mediums from bitumen to charcoal. McKee was a finalist in the 2017 Marie Ellis OAM Prize for Drawing and is currently undertaking a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Queensland College of Art.See more of Lachlan: houseconspiracy.org/lachlan-mckeeSubscribe on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

Multidisciplinary artist Jacinta Giles sits down with Jonathan O'Brien to discuss moving into art later in life, working with other people's images, and how to establish and maintain a critique group.Currently a research candidate at Queensland College of Art, Jacinta Giles’s practice merges experimental photography, montage and cinematic stills to interrogate the contemporary experience of fear. Her interests lie in exploring how the Void is manifesting itself in emergent ways within the visual language of fear and traverses’ concepts from fine art, theatre, cinema, and philosophy.See more of Jacinta: houseconspiracy.org/jacinta-giles

Christian contemporary artist Adele Grobler Dellit talks to House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien about what it's like to be an artist before and after finding faith.Adele's work focuses on her relationship with God. After becoming a Christian in 2016, it became clear to her that there are very few Contemporary Christian artists. She explores what Contemporary Christian paintings look like, through her own testimony and hermeneutically studying scripture.See more of Adele: houseconspiracy.org/adele-groblerSubscribe on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

Digitally-focused artist Kailum Graves talks to Jonathan O'Brien about the internet as a tool, curation as art, and the legality of copyright and appropriative works.Kailum Graves is an emerging artist critically obsessed with the artifactual digital object. He works predominantly in the medium of photography and within the sphere of the photographic process, including large-scale video installations. His practice reflects the influence of technology on the photographic medium and sits resolutely within the context of future movements of contemporary photography. He wrote this in the third person.See more of Kailum: houseconspiracy.org/kailum-gravesSubscribe on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

Writer Rosie Funder joins House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien to talk about uncertainty, monomaniacal bodybuilders, and the Melbourne-Brisbane divide (or lack thereof). Also Jack Vening. At the end we mention Jack Vening. Rosie Funder is an emerging writer of creative non-fiction based in Melbourne and Brisbane. In 2015 Rosie completed her Honours at QUT, creating a body of work that explored notions of doubt and uncertainty in the essay form. See more of Rosie: houseconspiracy.org/rosie-funder

Interdisciplinary installation artist Ellie-Lea Jansson sits down with Jonathan O'Brien to discuss art-life balance, and how lighting affects our interactions with space. Ellie-Lea’s practice currently explores the role of objects and their power to influence personal and societal identity. Experimenting with a range of processes including text based, digital and 3D mixed-media, she is transforming her practice from trained painter to multimodal artist. Intrinsic to all of these approaches is the selection of materials and methods for their inherent relationship with the ideas being examined. Ellie-Lea works at an institutional level within the arts and has studied Visual Arts, Film and Education. She has travelled and resided in many parts of Queensland and Australia and is currently Brisbane-based. Through investigating immersive methods that are both personal and vulnerable, her practice explores a subjective and at times interactive approach to art making that references her nomadic life and makes visible the fluid and collective notion of identity.  See more of Ellie-Lea: houseconspiracy.org/ellielea-jansson

Photographer extraordinaire Julia Scott Green sits down with Jonathan O'Brien to discuss the complexities of the information age, art as a historical artefact, and the different paths to 'emerging' as an artist. Julia Scott Green is a visual artist who works with and investigates photography. She does so through commercial projects, communications education and in her personal visual arts practice. She has recently expanded into light installation inspired by her photographic work, and will be developing these ideas during her House Conspiracy residency. See more of Julia: houseconspiracy.org/julia-scott-green

Physical theatre-maker and dancer Kristian Santic joins House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien to talk about liminality, enlightenment, and how money and clinical political correctness leads to bad art. Kristian is a Brisbane-based performance artist specialising in the forms of Contact Improvisation, Theatre, and Dance Theatre with a strong curiosity for experimental and hybrid work. His current focus on collaboration and its direct translation into work yields cacophonous, collage-like performances that are heavily influenced by the utilization of diverse modes of expressions. These works comprise of live projection, community participation/interaction, large-scale spectacle, installation, and cinematography. See more of Kristian: houseconspiracy.org/kristian-santic

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien chats with altform about what it's like for a single person to become a collective. altform is a collective of artists working together to collaboratively curate experiences. Through the development of interactive installations, immersive performances, and community oriented events, the collective’s medium is the experience, and these experiences serve as platforms for connection and critical discussion. See more of altform: houseconspiracy.org/altform

Writer Ella Donald chats with House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien about real life and the internet and how they're becoming more and more the same thing.   Ella Donald is an arts and popular culture journalist and critic from Brisbane. Her work regularly appears in the UK-based film magazine Little White Lies in both print and online editions, and also can be seen in publications like The Guardian, Vanity Fair, SBS, Junkee, Brisbane Times, Kill Your Darlings, and Screen Education. She’s been writing professionally since she was 15, editing and co-owning the popular website FashionOfGlee.com, which was profiled by various outlets including Tumblr and received worldwide press and recognition from publications including Elle and fashion houses like Kate Spade. With backgrounds in film and television, dance, theatre, photography, and music, she has written extensively on these topics, as well as covering celebrity, popular and youth culture, social and cultural issues, technology, and fashion from both an industry and audience perspective. In 2016, she participated in the Melbourne International Film Festival Critics Campus. She is available for all your trivia team needs (for a fee, of course).   See more of Ella: houseconspiracy.org/ella-donald   Subscribe on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien chats with Rachael Wellisch about living in Dubai and how the history of indigo is an illuminating touchstone for New Materialism. Rachael Wellisch’s practice is positioned within a conceptual framework that considers humans and culture in relation to physical matter. The process of indigo dying is integral to Wellisch’s work, in which she transforms matter to objects of cultural significance. Wellisch completed Honours at the Queensland College of Art. In 2016 Wellisch received the St Andrews War Memorial Hospital Art Award. See more of Rachael: houseconspiracy.org/rachael-wellisch

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien chats with Joseph Burgess about the life of an artist on the road.   The works of Joseph Burgess concern palaeontology, the destruction of sacred sites and identity . Combining stop motion animation and time based video art with an anthroposophical sentiment The Australian Mega Fauna project aims to celebrate Australia’s natural history and the oldest culture on the planet.   See more of Joseph: houseconspiracy.org/joseph-burgess

This week we bring you a cross-broadcast and introduction to a new show: Love Letters to F***bois Presents, hosted by Melina Wightman and Lia Stark, available everywhere except iTunes (though soon to be iTunes). You can also check them out here: https://soundcloud.com/loveletterstofuckbois In this letter, the ladies discuss their love of the ;’Mrs Robison’ character in dating. They look at the pros and cons of dating someone who thinks dial-up is just a way to booty-call someone.

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien chats with local writer and community radio hero Craig Garrett about juggling projects, having discipline, and the dangers (or lack of dangers) posed by modern technology.   Craig Garrett is a Brisbane-based radio and sound producer, creative writer and journalist. He’s produced documentaries for the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) and 4ZZZ; he’s produced soundscape recordings for festivals; and his work is available on Soundcloud and via 4ZZZ & ZED DIGITAL (Brisbane), 3CR (Melbourne), 2SER (Sydney) and nationally via the Community Radio Network: CRN.   See more of Craig: houseconspiracy.org/craig-garrett

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien chats with Sampson Smith and Dan Gough of The SUI Ensemble about interactivity, working with an ever-changing team of collaborators, and the shock factor of their work. The SUI Ensemble have been making provocative theatre work in Brisbane for the last 3 years. Comprised of 8ish resident members, the group work has debuted several performances in non-conventional spaces across Brisbane. Since their landmark work The Suicide Show, which toured interstate in 2015 to last year’s Anywhere Award Winning work Awful Big Adventure, SUI have strived to put audiences first. See more of The SUI Ensemble: houseconspiracy.org/the-sui-ensemble Subscribe on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien chats with Adam Anderson about identity, performance, Instagram, and taking the middle path. Currently undertaking a PhD in Griffith University, Adam’s practice incorporates masquerade performance, video, animation, projection, sound, drawing, photography and wearable art. His work intersects an eclectic array of cultural, social, religious and gendered icons through an immersive and charged ritualistic methodology which explores the ontological premise of identity. See more of Adam: houseconspiracy.org/adam-anderson Subscribe on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

A broadcast of Craig Garrett's key residency project: The House Conspiracy: A Day In The Life... [A Narrative Soundscape], featuring the artists of Round 8, House Conspiracy alumni, and the character of the House itself in the evolving context of West End.

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien speaks with Ryan Sim, prefacing this cross-broadcast of his new podcast with Jasmine Fairbairn: 'Yarn Storytelling with Ryan and Jasmine'. Yarn Storytelling's next event is this Friday, August 18 @ Metro Arts. Details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1374386255985593/

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien sits down with Tess Mehonoshen to discuss decay, writing papers, documentation, and the new necessity of incorporating digital with analogue. Tess Mehonoshen examines the contemporary phenomena of transient living and the ensuing disconnection that occurs with loss of place. Seeking to mimic and disrupt the separation between urban/rural through material ambiguity, categorisations of ‘place’ are questioned. The sculptures remain in a continual state of decay, eroding and disintegrating upon contact. See more of Tess: http://houseconspiracy.org/tess-mehonoshen

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien sits down with Holly Anderson to talk about the 'art-act'. Holly Anderson works principally with painting and drawing mediums with an emphasis on theatrical installation practice. Her strong concerns for narrative, simulation and notions of femininity are found continually in performed reconstructions of a continuing series of mythic or autobiographic events, neither of which is privileged or defined. Between a concern for the theatrical, traditional materials and immersive installation, playful interactions between her work and the viewer are warmly invited. See more of Holly: http://houseconspiracy.org/holly-anderson

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien sits down with April Giblin to chat about colour, queer communities, and the respectful processes that surround telling others' stories. April Giblin experiments with portraiture by using colours to evoke emotion to tell a story. Her art style flirts and blurs the lines between Fauvism, Colour Field, Abstraction and Portraiture. Aprils’ work carries an underlying theme about reality and the human condition. In her recent work, April is exploring gender and sexuality by documenting people and their experiences in the 21st century. See more of April: http://houseconspiracy.org/april-giblin

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien sits down with Kaitlyn Rogers and together they make a big mess. Kaitlyn Rogers is a comedian, actor and the no.1 fan of Australian icon, Shannon Noll. Kaitlyn trained in France with master clown Philippe Gaulier. She won the London Comedy Virgins Competition and has performed comedy in London, Paris & Brisbane. Currently, Kaitlyn is developing her comedy show: Can I Get An Amen?! See more of Kaitlyn: http://houseconspiracy.org/kaitlyn-rogers Subscribe on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien talks with author Tamara Lazaroff about developing as a writer, the origins of inspiration, and 'Macedonian-ness'. Tamara Lazaroff is an emerging writer of fiction and creative non-fiction based in Brisbane. Her work has been published, performed and broadcast in Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. She is currently working towards the completion of her short story collection, 'Walnuts, Almonds, Nuts & Other Stories' See more of Tamara: http://houseconspiracy.org/tamara-lazaroff Subscribe on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts.

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien talks with Sonny O'Brien about developing a multidisciplinary practice, working with technology, and the politics of global issues. Sonny O’Brien is a multidisciplinary artist exploring themes of impermanence, chance, power, and emergence. He abusively merges digital and traditional mediums, producing interactive installations, film, animation, photography, print and collage. As a sound designer and musician, he received the QUT Vice Chancellor’s Scholarship in 2012 for his outstanding portfolio. See more of Sonny: http://houseconspiracy.org/sonny-obrien

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien chats with House Conspiracy's first ever Resident dancer and choreographer, Chloe Jane Hambleton, about contemporary dance, teaching, and her processes as an emerging artist. Chloe Jane Hambleton is an emerging contemporary dance artist. Chloe recently graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Dance Performance), from the Queensland University of Technology. She has performed at the Beijing Dance Festival, Anywhere Theatre Festival, and participated as a choreographer and dancer at QL2 Dance's On Course (Canberra). See more of Chloe Jane Hambleton: http://houseconspiracy.org/chloe-jane-hambleton

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien sits down with Sancintya Simpson to talk about the history of her family across the globe and the process of unveiling that history. We also talk about intergenerational trauma, decolonisation, and about the artist as a facilitator for healing. Sancintya Mohini Simpson is an interdisciplinary artist and writer who examines the complexities of racial, migratory and mixed-race experiences within Australia through painting, photography, video, performance and sound work. Her practice is informed by her heritage as a biracial First-Generation Australian of Indian-Anglo descent. See more of Sancintya: http://houseconspiracy.org/sancintya-simpson Subscribe on iTunes.

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien sits down with Caroline Kropp to discuss her show 'The Repairman', and the representation of your own stories compared with other people's, verbatim theatre, and the chemical contamination of Oakey.

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien sits down with Peter Kozac to discuss vulnerability, how form and process are intertwined with the nature of a work, and how to make that work universally accessible. Peter Kozak is an emerging artist whose practice focuses on representations of human fragility and vulnerability in video and video performance art. PS: Producer Tyler William Morrison endorses this podcast as one of the best yet. Listen and subscribe on iTunes.

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien sits down with Matt Seery to chat about his directorial debut of Tim Crouch's 'ENGLAND', Brisbane's arts scene, and what a modern arts career might look like.

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien sits down with Aron Oroszvari to read and discuss Aron's story 'Tomato', and to talk about reading, writing, dogs, and babies. Aron Oroszvari is a fledgling writer who composes minimalist fantasy and surrealist short stories. He is based in Brisbane and splits his time between writing working as a check-in attendant for Sunstate Coaches.

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien sits down with Rebekah Evans to discuss truth, ecocentrism, the divide between humanity and nature, and how to create and experience things from outside your own perspective.

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien speaks with Gwan Tung Dorothy Lau about identity, the personal and the political, moving cities, and, for a surprising amount of the show, time travel.

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien sits down with Amanda Wolf, performance and installation artist, about sewing, performance, and watching (or not watching) scary movies as kids.

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien sits down with local writer Rebecca Cheers to talk about publishing, writing novels, ambition, and literature.

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien sits down with Rhiannon Dionysius to talk sculpture, the body, the difference between community and personal arts practices, and Shia Labeouf.

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien sits down with Lia Stark to talk sexuality, feminism, New York, and why she's so damn angry.

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien sits down with Alice Hung to discuss bamboo, the blurred distinction between artistic and utilitarian creation, and how bamboo is so contextual in how it's valued as a medium.

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien sits down with Jesse Perrin to talk process-based artworks, happiness, experience, and haircuts.

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien sits down with Caitlin Strongarm on a sleepy morning for a shockingly articulate conversation about games, play, childhood, and the different ways of framing theatre, action, and intent.

House Conspiracy's Jonathan O'Brien sits down with Bri Lee, prolific freelance writer, memoirist, and editor of Hot Chicks with Big Brains to chat about writing and the writing industry, and about balancing not just work and life, but also balancing the different kinds of work that one person does within the 'creative industries'.