It was a great night, with a wonderful turnout to see the ten artist presentations. Thank you to everyone who made it to the event.  For those that were interested but couldn’t make it, here is a transcript of my presentation.

“Hi, I’m J Valenzuela Didi. Tonight, as we’re among friends, I’ve decided to do something I normally wouldn’t do. That is, to reveal the initial impetus behind my work. A great thing about art is that each person is allowed their own interpretation of a work. So explaining why a work was created can be a bit like giving away the end of film. So that’s my spoiler alert. Now for the juicy stuff, the confessions:

“In ‘Matador (Dallas 1963)’ on display here as part of the Border Art Prize, I’ve included an obvious reference to the JFK assassination and I want the viewer to be asking the question, ”Where is the matador?”

“At the time I painted this I was reading a lot about the Apollo missions, which branched off to reading about Kennedy and the era. What really interested me about the photos taken following the assassination was the real mix of emotions that was captured. That, perhaps, in that fleeting moment, all the tactics of media and human responses to tragic events was laid bare.

Now, a clue for those of you looking for the Matador, I came across the cow in this picture on a gravelly, country road. She’d walked up off the grass and stood right in front of my car. And I swear, at that point she turned and calmly stared me right in the eyes. I’m certain we were both thinking that if she wanted to she could walk right over my car and crush it with me inside. Thankfully she didn’t. She just walked right on. In this painting I see the cow as the public.

This next painting is titled ‘Tomorrow never knows’ and recently sold at the Lethbridge Gallery. My artistic process is and will probably always be, one of exploration and discovery. I like to learn about every nook and cranny, every bolt or weld, the purpose and mechanics of every machine, the history of every referenced image.

“Then, once I’ve carefully compiled and learnt all those details… I discard them completely.

“Well not exactly, what I try to do is to detach objects from their purpose or context by focussing on geometry, shapes and repeating patterns. But I don’t think I would be able to do this successfully without amassing a healthy knowledge of the details first. An example of this is in this painting. You may have noticed, that although the surrounding shapes and objects hint at their existence, there are actually no overhead wires.

“This one’s called ‘All Tomorrow’s Parties’ which again displays an emphasis on geometry and patterns. Through the process of discovery and abandonment I hope to reveal familiar scenes as alien landscapes, artefacts of a society that once existed, and that the figures that appear in these scenes become solitary explorers or observers of a life that we all to often take for granted.

“This next painting is titled ‘Einstein’s two ways of reckoning’. I was lucky enough to win best in show for this painting in this year’s Brisbane Rotary Art Spectacular, which has opened many doors for me. Since winning the award I have been asked many times what the meaning of the painting is. The answer is in the title. Albert Einstein once said “There are only two ways to look at life. Once is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” I know how I want to live my life.

“This last painting is titled ‘Urban Spaceman’. Its currently showing as part of the Sunshine Coast Art Prize. As I mentioned at the start, I’ve been reading a lot about the Apollo missions. What I really love about the moon missions, is that huge discoveries were made and it was done non-violently, with goodwill, hope and curiosity. To me, that’s pretty cool. It’s also a good way to live everyday.”