The Australian: No fan of the royals
By Bronwyn Watson
Karla Dickens had not been born when the Queen visited Australia in 1954, but such was her interest in the monarchy that 60 years after that royal tour she decided to create four artworks and a poem based on the visit. Dickens’s works, all titled Bottom feeder, allude to the English monarchy spreading what Dickens describes as its “sucking tentacles” around the world:
“Noble opportunists / aristocratic sponges / blue-blooded suckers / cold-blooded leeches / self-seeking predators / We welcome you …”
Dickens is a Wiradjuri artist who trained at Sydney’s National Art School and is now based in Lismore in regional NSW. In 2016, her images, along with those of other indigenous artists, lit up the sails of Sydney’s Opera House. She had little money for paint while at art school, so she turned to collage art. She would pick up discarded items on the way to classes and source materials from op shops and the local tip.
Image: Detail from Karla Dickens’s Bottom feeder 1, 2018. Picture: QUT Art Collection.
![[NAS Studio Feature] We spoke with third year BFA student Maria (@theroadtoalvarado) about her practice and experience returning her NAS Studio.
"My art practice is quite varied – at the moment I am exploring soft sculpture. In particular, replicating Russian animated figures from the 1940s and 50s on a large scale.
It feels very good [to be back]. NAS has an environment like nowhere else, so it was so very nice to see everyone in my class again (especially in person). Being back in the studio, using the workshop, discussing work with teachers was all dearly missed. Glad to be back." – Maria
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Image: Maria Alvarado in her NAS Studio. Photo: Peter Morgan
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