The Melbourne-based artist Rose Nolan has worked exclusively in a palette of red and white since the 1990s, a decision she describes as \u201cliberating\u201d. When she stopped thinking about colour, Nolan suddenly found she had more head space for her practice which, over 40 years, has spanned a remarkable range of mediums, from colossal public artworks to small architectural models, wall paintings, banners and flags, and self-published books and pamphlets.<\/p>\n
You might have traipsed across her terrazzo-emblazoned floor work All Alongside of Each Other<\/a> on the concourse of Sydney\u2019s Central station. Or gazed upwards at the towering words Enough-Now\/Even\/More-so<\/a> on the exterior of Melbourne\u2019s Munro Community Hub near Queen Victoria Market.<\/p>\n Part of Rose Nolan\u2019s All Alongside of Each Other inside Sydney\u2019s Central station. Photograph: Carly Earl\/The Guardian<\/p>\n It was in the late 1970s when, fresh from a tiny Catholic girls\u2019 convent, Nolan entered the Victorian College of the Arts and went on to become a driving force behind the now legendary artist-led collective Store 5, an artistic crucible that shaped the work of some of Australia\u2019s leading contemporary artists. Between 1989 and 1993 the collective staged 150 exhibitions in the storage space behind a Greek cake shop on Chapel Street.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was very sex, drugs and rock\u2019n\u2019roll,\u201d Nolan says of the period. \u201cOver that four-year period, everybody\u2019s work really developed. And we all had so many relationships going on \u2026 It wasn\u2019t always easy, none of those group situations are, but it was really exciting.<\/p>\n \u201cIt might sound inflated but it did feel like we were making history \u2026 It was a moment in time.\u201d<\/p>\n Nolan, diminutive and dressed in black, is curled up on her couch in Richmond. Around us are relics of a life spent immersed in Melbourne\u2019s contemporary art scene; works by her friend Kathy Temin and her late mentor John Nixon punctuate hundreds of art books and ephemera. Her two cats, Dennis and Lillee (her partner is a cricket nut), meander between houseplants and climb on to the mid-century furniture.<\/p>\n Nolan\u2019s house itself is an artwork: designed by OOF! Architecture, the Victorian-era cottage has been refashioned into a white rectangle that spells out HELLO on its brick facade. When I arrive there are gawkers taking photos of it. It\u2019s all over Instagram. \u201cThis happens a bit,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Nolan\u2019s \u2018Hello House\u2019 in Richmond, Melbourne. Photograph: Nic Granleese\/OOF! Architecture<\/p>\n Nolan is not on any social media. When I ask why, she replies: \u201cI know myself well enough to know that I could go down a complete rabbit hole, and I haven\u2019t got the time. Invisibility is the new radical position \u2013 I feel like I\u2019m in a parallel universe not being on it.<\/p>\n \u201cMy life is very analogue. As is my practice.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018The text and the time spent making becomes part of the latent energy within the work\u2019 \u2026 Nolan in her studio. Photograph: Eugene Hyland\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Nolan\u2019s way of working is not only analogue, it\u2019s exacting and, at times, exhausting. She has long worked with tactile and humble materials including hessian and cardboard, eschewing methods that might be considered time-saving in favour of cutting thousands of shapes by hand. This method has left her injured, she has even required surgery on her hands. But she believes that the labour embedded in the work transfers to viewers, making them slow down to take it all in. It\u2019s clear, from both her mien and her work, that what she\u2019s trying to invoke is a sense of presence and connection.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Saved for Later<\/p>\n Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia’s culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n