My Space: Miles Dunne
What makes a truly creative space?
Words and image by Timothea Moylan
Miles Dunne has had a busy couple of years creating work for Illuminate, touring the country with The Bait Fridge and self-funding a residency in Montreal. With his first solo exhibition, Post-Organic, launching this month, we sat down in his studio at Wash Dog to unpack his journey and learn how he creates some of Australia’s most exciting art.
Your practice is pretty genre-bending. Can you describe it to someone who hasn’t seen it before?
These days, it’s multidisciplinary with a focus on technology, digital mediums and how light and sound interact with the physical world – installation, projection-based, performance works or standalone sculptures.
You started with illustration, so you’ve been on quite a journey to create the kind of work you do now. How did you arrive at this?
When The Lab opened, I went to the first Lab Rats session. No one knew how it would play out. It was just this crazy creative space where everyone was bouncing off each other. That was my entry into where I am now – exploring that bridge between the digital and physical worlds. I’ve adopted this kind of jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none approach, which feels like a way I can create a sustainable career. All the elements might seem unrelated, but they build an interwoven practice.
What was it like completing a residency in Montreal?
I lined up the residency with Creos and didn’t get funding. So, I was like, ‘Fuck it – I have to go’. This is what I want to do, so I’m going to put all my energy towards it’. I have such an amazing, strong network here in Adelaide who I owe so much of my confidence and success to, but it was great to go off on my own and learn from people I had no connection to. They seemed as impressed by what I was doing as I was by them, so it was this whole self-confidence-building exercise.
Can you walk us through your upcoming show, Post-Organic?
What we consider nature is becoming more and more designed. We want nature in our lives, but we want it to suit us – green spaces in our cities, plants in our homes, national parks we can visit. So, I’ve made these dystopian sculptures you can view as “nature”, but they’re not even remotely natural. The way the lights are programmed and the soundscapes are created takes traits from nature and deconstructs them. It’s the most conceptually grounded work I’ve ever made.
What are you listening to right now?
I played a few shows on duck! radio recently, so I’ve also been listening to other people’s mixes, like Research Project. Raji Rags on NTS Radio is great. I love being presented with someone else’s taste and life experience – it gives an insight into the world they live.
What’s your go-to Adelaide hotspot?
Ancient World. It’s such a beautiful space for open, loving culture. It’s been an amazing place for me to find my personal identity and embrace queerness. It’s taught me how to party in a way that is positive for me.
Post-Organic is at Staff Only gallery from October 18–November 10. Head to @miles.dunne.artist for more info.
