Who is Kyle Hughes-Odgers?
I am a visual artist working across large scale public art projects, gallery shows and children’s books.
What would you do differently from what you do now?
I love my creative life – I’ve been so fortunate to travel frequently for projects and exhibitions over the past fifteen years, and I genuinely still love waking up knowing I have a full studio day of painting and drawing ahead of me. In high school I just assumed I would be digging ditches and filling them back up again – or moving rocks around all day. Not that there’s anything wrong with moving rocks – but I love art life.
Who inspires you and why?
I find inspiration in many different people; it’s difficult to pinpoint a few individual names. As a general approach, I am inspired by authentic creative energy and also by people that can run and climb mountains at an elite level.
What would you do to make a difference in the world?
I get overwhelmed thinking about this, as a creative life seems very selfish at times, but I believe creativity and creative energy contributes immensely to culture and humanity, so I hope the work I make over my lifetime can create sparks of inspiration and thought.
On a practical level, I think a distribution of wealth from the 2,755 billionaires (according to Google) to the hundreds of millions of children without food or safe shelter would be a solid start. Imagine the ingenuity, inspiration and contribution to humanity we are missing out on learning and growing from because of extreme poverty.
Favourite holiday destination and why?
I get bored on holiday! Unpopular opinion! I also don’t see the point in one flavour of potato chip per bag. Give me a little foil divider and have multiple options. Like a small apartment building of flavour. I do love travelling for art projects and hiking/running mountain tracks.
When friends come to town, what attraction would you take them to, and why?
The South West of Western Australia – Margaret River/Yallingup regions. The natural world there is so inspiring – the old growth forests and the coast. Amazing part of the world.
What are you currently reading?
Off the Map by Alastair Bonnett. It’s an interesting look at lost spaces, invisible cities, forgotten islands, feral places and what they tell us about the world.
What are you currently listening to?
I have been listening to the new Biffy Clyro album The Myth of the Happily Ever After a fair bit. I also just found out about Luca Brasi, so that’s been on fairly heavy rotation.
Happiness is?
Time with my kids. Making art. Climbing mountains. Trying to run sub-five minute kilometres over five kilometres.
What does the future hold for you?
I have a solo exhibition in Melbourne with Backwoods Gallery running to 24 April and also a new children’s book published with Fremantle Press called Everything You Want To See and it’s everything you want to see – now available in bookstores across Australia and New Zealand.
Image: Kyle Hughes-Odgers – courtesy of Backwoods Gallery