Wen Pham (he/him) is an artist based in Melbourne, Australia. He works as a tattoo artist, painter and has just entered the world of sculpting. He is inspired by fluid shapes, textures and also moody cats!
Artist Statement
Every piece represents the emotions felt between the big and small events in life, with each change being a catalyst for the next. Not only is this word so perfect to describe the inspiration for the artworks, it’s an enjoyable play on words too.
I have been through a lot of changes the past two years, especially in my personal life. I started transitioning into my gender, I let a lot of things go, I found the love of my life and also I lost one of my best friends. It's hard to find the time and mental space to sit and process everything when other things in life take up all your time, but painting each piece, I got to revisit those feelings and really have time to sit with these emotions.
I have always had an obsession with cats. I think I am like a cat. They are mostly quiet and a little hesitant to approach people until comfortable. They can hold both gentleness and ferocious. They are also quite independent but also love a cuddle.
I hope people can really connect with the feelings represented in each piece and maybe take it as a reminder to remember to sit and mentally and process each moment in our very turbulent lives - I know I need the reminder to do so as well!
Wen's show Catalyst opens October 17 at Outré Fitzroy.
Interview by Mel Parker. Images supplied by Wen Pham.
Welcome back to Outré, and thanks for taking the time to chat to us! Last time we interviewed you it was for your 2023 solo exhibition Wen’s World. How have the last two years been for you? How do you feel your art practice has changed over that time?
Thanks so much for having me again, I’m just so stoked to be invited back! It’s always such a pleasure to work with everyone at Outré. The past two years have been life changing and I’ve had many major events happen. I’ve had a lot of realisations that have led me to understanding myself better, including coming out as transgender. It’s been a whirlwind and let’s just say I’m very tired but very happy with the way things are going.
In terms of the practice, I would say I am trying to be more mindful about balancing work and life – which is really hard because I love making art and I thrive on it, so unfortunately my life outside of being creative isn’t as nourished as I would like. I think it’s important to take enough time to rest and reset when you’re an artist. Working and producing as if I’m a machine is just not healthy for me.
My art style has definitely changed in the past two years. However, If I look back to when I ‘professionally’ started making art when I was 18, I pretty much changed styles and evolved every year or two. I would get obsessed with certain subjects or genres and that would just keep happening as I got excited or inspired by new things. I’m always wanting to explore new things and learn new ways to make art.
Your upcoming exhibition is titled Catalyst - can you share with us the meaning behind this title? What can our audience expect from this show?
Each piece I did represents a memorable event in the past couple of years of my life and each event that happened was a catalyst for the next event. Some of the things were very difficult to go through, but each of them led to important realisations and it opened the door for the next thing to happen. Thinking on it now the pieces represent more the transition between each event. I think the audience may be able to relate to the feeling of lostness, contemplation and self-reflection after a major life change. I also enjoy a bit of wordplay with the word ‘catalyst’ and cats.
This show has a very introspective or contemplative aspect to it. Did this affect how you approached creating this body of work compared to previous exhibitions?
In the past few years I feel like I have gone through a lot and feel like I am discovering myself as a person, so I wanted to reflect on that. When I was invited to do the show, I didn’t intend for this to be the driving factor in the subject but as I started the sketching, it’s like my brain really wanted to process and release so I guess that’s what ended up happening. When compared to the previous exhibitions, I think these pieces have more meaning behind them, whereas the last pieces were made with a much lighter intention.
Saying that, I don’t think every art piece has to have a meaning. It’s important for me not to always place too much heaviness into my art because that would be exhausting. Sometimes I just want to paint something because it’s cute and fun, sometimes I need to make art to you know, release some inner turmoil, haha!
Are you an artist that works on one piece at a time, or do you prefer to take on a lot of works all at once?
If I am doing a collection of pieces, I like to have a plan. Usually I have colour schemes picked out and all the sketches done first to make sure there’s a good balance and cohesiveness. I’m the same with my tattoo designs. For me, the hardest part isn’t the physical painting- it’s the planning and decision making part. I’m really indecisive so it really is a lot on my brain haha!
From there is the painting and application part – I usually have around two to four pieces on the go at a time, so while I’m waiting for something to dry I can work on another one. I like to be efficient because I am also impatient when waiting for paint to dry! Even though acrylics are a fast drying medium I sometimes would get the hairdryer out to speed things up even more.
I also finish my paintings up to about 95% and then leave them to sit for a while before I do the final touches. I don’t like calling something done until I’ve had time to stare at it and analyse what could be improved. Sometimes I will even change a feature 3 to 5 times before I’m happy with it.
Your bio mentions you’ve been venturing into the world of sculpture - how have you been finding this new medium? Are there any other new mediums you’d like to experiment with in the future?
I am absolutely obsessed with the world of sculpting at the moment! I made a small cat head sculpture to use as a reference for my paintings, which I bought into the gallery. Louise and Pete thought it would be a great idea to try to make a proper sculpture out of clay and make replicas via casting. I had never even thought of this before, so after a lot of help from Pete and a lot of YouTube tutorials I made my first ever mould and casts! I still have so much to learn and I’m looking forward to trying to resin casts next.
There are so many things I would love to try – for example, rug tufting looks really fun!
This show has a much darker colour palette than some of your other works - what drew you to working with these darker tones this time around? In contrast, there is also a striking shade of blue that pops up in quite a few of the works. Is there a particular significance behind this colour?
In these pieces I think the blue represents the feeling of being in between, like being in limbo. The cats I painted are floating or sitting in these in-between moments in life, never truly settled and always growing and changing. When I think about it, in nature the things that are blue are the sea and the sky, which are always changing and moving.
I don’t think I consciously chose the colour because of these reasons but it’s interesting to reflect back and wonder what was going on in my brain at the time.
Cats are the main characters in this show, and you’ve said that you feel drawn to and inspired by them. What is it about cats that makes them good avatars for expressing more human emotions?
Well, I just find them so cute and beautiful! I’m always excited when I see a cat just roaming around the streets doing its own thing. They’re very expressive and true to themselves. I think we would be like cats if we all took off the masks we wear to fit into society.
What’s next on the horizon for you? Any cool projects you’d like to share, or something you’re looking forward to?
I’m actually looking forward to taking a little break at the end of the year, doing more gardening. I definitely need a little while to recover and refuel after creating so many pieces for the show!
I’m really excited to do more sculptures and clay models in the near future and I have so many ideas – there will be more cats involved I’m sure. I’m also looking forward to learning more new skills and expanding my artistic knowledge. There just seems to not be enough time in the day to do all the things I want to do!
Thanks for chatting to us, Wen. We can't wait for the opening of Catalyst!
