On the Couch with Anna Glynn

Anna Glynn Who is Anna Glynn?
A multimedia artist.

What would you do differently to what you do now?
I love what I do and the people I meet and collaborate with. Love the landscapes I encounter and the stories hidden beneath the surface. Love the animals and birds around me. So maybe I wouldn’t do much differently at all.

Who inspires you and why?
The other artists that I meet in different locations here and overseas with the multitude of ideas and interpretations that swirl endlessly about them.

What would you do to make a difference in the world?
I am going to compost gently one day and add some nutrients to the soil, but before I do that maybe my art can sometimes shines a light on the wonders around us.

Favourite holiday destination and why?
Although I travel a great deal working on projects as international artist in residence, my favourite place is my home in the escarpment rainforest of the Shoalhaven in NSW. The escarpment is my backyard and the wallabies and wombats graze whilst catbirds and lyrebirds call.

When friends come to town, what attraction would you take then to, and why?  
Out in our boat on Jervis Bay to watch whales and dolphins and hear the penguins barking. A beautiful protected place to swim and melt into nature.

What are you currently reading?
I am about to start reading classic books to do with islands such as Robinson Crusoe as I will be on Loggerhead Key in the Gulf of Mexico for 30 days as artist in residence with the National Parks Arts Foundation and National Park Service USA… seemed appropriate. I will also be reading some Hemingway as this was one of the places he hung out.

What are you currently listening to?
The sound of mating foxes in the forest. I am also recording them. A very eerie call and response between the male and female.

Happiness is?
Making art, walking, swimming, reading and cups of tea with friends.

What does the future hold for you?
Who knows? Hopefully making more art, walking, swimming, reading and cups of tea with friends.

Anna Glynn is a multimedia artist who works with a palette of painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, writing, music, sound, installation, film making, moving image, digital animation and theatre. Her art-practice has been inspired by working and collaborating internationally exploring different cultures and new materials. Her work often references our natural world and expresses curiosity and wonderment, investigating the connection between humans and nature, land and place, ideas and the ephemeral.

Glynn was a finalist in the 2013 Australian Art in Asia Awards which recognised her ongoing commitment to international collaboration. In 2014 she was awarded a Veolia Creative Arts Scholarship in recognition of her “commitment and contribution to the creative arts”. She has undertaken a number of successful residencies both within Australia and internationally, including in 2013 in the Department of Visual Studies, Lingnan University, Hong Kong and in 2015 at the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, USA.

Anna is a finalist in the 2015 Whyalla Art Prize for her work, The Sun Worshipper, and is currently undertaking a residency is on a tiny island in the Dry Tortugas Islands between Florida and Cuba. For more information about Anna, visit: www.annaglynn.com for details.

Image: Anna Glynn – photo by Sharon Hickey