MEET IAN HAGGERTY
What was the inspiration behind your piece for SWELL Sculpture Festival 2022?
Climate Change, War, Over Population and Extinction.
What does exhibiting in the 20th year of SWELL Sculpture Festival mean to you?
I was in the first SWELL 20 years ago when I first came to Australia, and consider it a privilege to be in this one 20 years later.
What are the three art mediums you couldn’t live without?
Sculpture, painting and music.
What is the best piece of advice that you’ve ever received?
When its done, its done! I.e. don’t procrastinate, do something – anything if you want change, progress. You can always fix a mistake, but you can’t fix anything that never happened.
If you could wake up tomorrow in the body of another artist, who would you pick and what would you do?
Richard McDonald, he is a superb realist artist, I would sculpt the inhumanity of man to his fellow creatures.
If you could travel back to any point in time, when and where would you go and why?
1979 Germany in my Tank on exercise, dreaming about being a Helicopter pilot and eventually passing the tests, but staying in the army long enough to do the pilot’s course.
Is a connection to place important for you and your work?
Yes. The Gold Coast is my forever home, therefore, I would like to see more public art. It has been known as an area for just beach culture for far too long, but due to its recent rapid growth and cultural diversity is now gaining quite the arts following.
What is the best compliment for an artist to receive?
“I could have done that, but you actually did it.”
Do you believe in ghosts or have any good unexplainable stories?
Nope.
If you had to get a tattoo of a famous artwork, what would it be?
Celtic Warrior Basilica of Superga Turin Italy.
Do you believe pineapple belongs on a pizza?
Yes, because it’s disruptive to the normal and is always a conversation starter, a bit like art, the taste is individual, and of course – it tastes good.
Do you have a power outfit that you wear while creating?
SWELL tee shirt and Shorts.
The Author
Joss Smith is an emerging graphic designer based in Tweed Heads, loving everything visual and immersive. Her passion for the creative arts has led her to study a Bachelor of Visual Communication and Graphics. She hopes to balance her love for the arts, culture and nature with her strengths in communication and management to create wicked designs with wicked people.