| These past few years I have found myself looking less and less at the things around me, not directly but, trying to look through them, or in the background, and see what my first feelings and instincts are—this is the basis for my work. I want my work to take on its own kind of environment or feeling, but still allow people to have their own stories and ideas of the work. I have been living in this old wood cabin/studio, located in the Mountains of Victoria, Australia, for the past few years. It’s really been great for me in terms of my art practice. I am isolated enough out here to not have to fit in with everyday society. I guess it’s been nice to have the chance to choose whether or not to enter into that world, which is becoming more and more distant for me the longer I live in the forest. There really is a mood to this place. It’s dark and creepy, but at the same time beautiful. |  |
Justin Lee Williams
These past few years I have found myself looking less and less at the things around me, not directly but, trying to look through them, or in the background, and see what my first feelings and instincts are—this is the basis for my work. I want my work to take on its own kind of environment or feeling, but still allow people to have their own stories and ideas of the work.
I have been living in this old wood cabin/studio, located in the Mountains of Victoria, Australia, for the past few years. It’s really been great for me in terms of my art practice. I am isolated enough out here to not have to fit in with everyday society. I guess it’s been nice to have the chance to choose whether or not to enter into that world, which is becoming more and more distant for me the longer I live in the forest. There really is a mood to this place. It’s dark and creepy, but at the same time beautiful. You can’t help but let it consume you. I try to let this creep into the works, the history of the mountains, with its cults and odd people that are around here, and also the beautiful animals that are all around.
I don’t want to get too caught up in topics or themes in my artworks; they’re always apparent. I love the world of myth and ancient symbolism, but my work is mainly about exploration. I like work created around questions, not answers. It’s always unresolved, like dreams and nature. I guess I just try to start the work and see where it decides to go, allowing it a life of its own. I am always learning and experimenting. Being self-taught, I think it may seem naïve, but I want to feel similar to a child when making work, with a way of trial and error. This has allowed me to create some amazing mistakes.
