Meet the artist: Caleb Heinselman

Caleb Heinselman, Mercuryphone, 2012. MP3/iPhone listening device from found objects. 53.5 x 40 x 68.5cm. Photo: Tom Beaumont.

Caleb Heinselman is a self-taught Steampunk artist from Melbourne, Australia, whose work is being exhibited for the second time ever in The Antipodean Steampunk Show. 

How were you introduced to the Steampunk movement? 

I found the word "Steampunk" in 2006, It was October, don’t remember the date, but the time was around 9 o’clock at night. Needless to say it was a life changing moment for me. I was reading the history of a Japanese model kit manufacturer called NITTO, they ran a series of kits in the eighties  called Ma.K. I was reading a comment on a blog about the models and one of  the descriptive words someone mentioned was “Steampunk”. Needless to say copy and paste couldn’t happen fast enough. That’s the moment I found the aesthetic that I had always been drawn too but never knew it actually had a name for itself.  I remember not being able to sleep that night because of it. The mind was a racin'.

What are you doing when you’re not designing and building your pieces? 

I work for 5 Senses Coffee Roasters as the Senior Field Service Technician, maintaining and repairing espresso machines throughout the Melbourne area. A very fitting job that happened by accident back in 97 in Seattle. Outside of that I’m loving my daughter and wife the best I can.

In what ways do you incorporate Steampunk into your day to day life? 

Well let’s see, the majority of furniture in my home has a Steampunk feel to it, my workshop has heaps of bits and pieces that keep my mind thinking of the next project. And I suppose working on coffee machines covers the work side of my life. So you can pretty much say I incorporate it every day.

Caleb Heinselman, The samson revolaser (detail) 2012. Found objects. 38 x 45 x 28cm. Photo: Tom Beaumont.

Tell us about the workspace where the magic happens. 

The day we moved into a home that had a garage I was designing my shop in my head, the day I came home form the local hardware store with all my benches I began building the Cochleaphone, I was about to burst with creativity, obviously. All the designs I had in my head could finally come out. I have four separate work benches that typically have four separate projects in different stages of build happening. I have pictures of inspiration around me along with unique one of a kind bits and bobs I pick up when I’m out and about looking for parts. I have a rack of tubs with each tub holding like objects, If I need screws I know where to look, if I need cogs, or leather it’s all sitting there nice and organized. I used a Dremil  for the first year of building and my work tool bag of your general purpose off the shelf tools. Just this past year I’ve added a drill press. I plan on adding a few more pieces of machinery in the next year or two.

What’s the best thing about visiting Brisbane? 

The welcoming atmosphere of artisan and the staff. This was my second ever exhibition, needless to say the nerves were acting up, everyone was very relaxed, accepting and supportive, That was the best part for me, outside of the excitement factor.

What’s your favourite piece in The Antipodean Steampunk Show? 

I have two. Steam Sphere by Michelle Murray - her work is so clean and precise, I was mesmerised by her craftsmanship. The other was the Tea Bag Jiggler 5 by Russell Anderson, love the mechanism and functionality of this piece - it instantly makes you want one. 

Meet the artist: Kate O'Brien

Kate O'Brien, Humbug Billy - The Bradford sweet poisoning of 1858, 2010. Digital photograph. 40.6 x 61cm

Kate O'Brien is a Brisbane-based photographer whose work is currently being featured in The Antipodean Steampunk Show. We caught up with Kate to chat about art, Brisbane, and Steampunk.

What was your first encounter with Steampunk? 

I believe it was a photograph of set designer, Kit Stolen by the Russian American photographic artist Nadya Lev. He is pictured wearing a dusty Victorian ensemble including a brocade vest and tailcoat with leather gloves and hair falls, equal parts black plastic strapping, dreadlocks and rusty springs. For a while there it was the image most people associated with the genre and is still in the top 10 results on google image search when you use Steampunk as your keyword.

Kate O'Brien, Hull, 2008. Digital photograph. 58.4 x 48.3cm

Where do you draw inspiration from for your photographs?

I don't tend to look at the other work of photographers very much, but rather I draw my inspiration from small details in paintings and historical clothing. I love looking at embroidery on Belle Époque gowns or William Morris wallpaper designs for visual cues for my own work. I also source a lot of French antiques and textiles to use as props and costumes. Often a small thing can inspire an elaborate image, such as the 200 year old silk Brocade I used for the waistcoat in my image, "Humbug Billy: The Bradford Sweet Poisoning of 1858".

What message do you take from the Steampunk movement?

I don't feel the movement is especially unified so it's hard to take one singular message from Steampunk. I can only speak for my own ideals and beliefs, which is that the decorative and ornamented  is what sets us apart from being soulless robots. In the last 100 years we have moved away from the skills and aesthetic beauty that used to be commonplace in ordinary household goods. It's no longer economically viable to allow the everyday consumer access to things made with craftsmanship and beauty and we are conditioned to believe that a clinical piece of hardware such as the iphone or ipad is the pinnacle of achievement in design and function. I believe and hope that after a century of having decoration systematically stripped out of our lives, the thirst for that beauty will return.  

Kate O'Brien, Ava Nara, 2008. Digital photograph. 50.8 x 40.6cm

Your photographs often feature elaborate sets and costumes. How long does it generally take for an image to go from concept to finished product?

It really depends on the concept and the financial constraints. I don't shoot as regularly as I used to, but that was a conscious decision so that I could refine my concepts and create a higher quality outcome. Some images sit in the back of my mind while I collect bits and pieces for them while others only take a couple of months. Many of the props in my images are from chance encounters and there is very little I can just decide I need and go and purchase. Even things like fabric, which is usually readily available needs to be sewn into a finish garment or backdrop. It's very labour intensive, but I think it helps me maintain the level of detail in my work that people immediately notice when they see my finished images. 

Kate O'Brien, Paris green, 2012. Digital photograph. 61 x 40.6cm.

Do you have a favourite piece in The Antipodean Steampunk Show?

I really love Russell Anderson's tea bag jiggler. It really personifies the quirkiness of the genre. It's the classic Steampunk "Infernal Contraption". Definitely my favourite piece in the show!

What’s the best thing about being an artist in Brisbane?

Without sounding too sappy, getting the opportunity to have my work in the show at Artisan and the support I've had from local Brisbane people whom I'd never met before. There is a strong sense of community in the Brisbane art scene and it is really encouraging for relatively new artists such as myself.

You can see Kate's work on display at Gallery artisan as part of The Antipodean Steampunk Show until the 15th of December.

 

Q&A with Steve Barry and Leo Yip of Ellaspede

The Ellaspede motorcycles in the artisan windows have been causing many a double-take over the last few weeks. We had a chat with Ellaspede co-founders Steve Barry and Leo Yip about motorcycles, design, and Brisbane.

What do motorcycles mean to you?

Steve: Motorcycles are a medium for me… a reasonably compact, cost efficient, self-satisfying but most importantly, usable medium. We can render our thoughts and expressions in their numerous components. The combinations of material, colour, texture finish and technique can make for a spectrum of possibilities.

Leo: Motorcycles represent freedom to me. When you are on a bike there is a sort of ‘zone’ you get into. It isn’t something that I can put into words.

What triggered your decision to go into business together building custom motorcycles?

Steve: We went into business together so we didn't have to work for someone else.

Leo: Yeah I think Steve sums it up well; we had a passion for motorcycles and are having a good crack at trying to turn our passions into a viable business.

How does your Ellaspede work fit together with your backgrounds in industrial design?

Steve: Using a 'design' approach to the bikes and soft goods helps control the process. It places parameters and measurable outcomes that could easily otherwise get out of hand. Of course art and design doesn't always like to be constrained so remaining open to where things may lead is necessary. We then just let the two trains of thought battle it out till the final outcome.

Leo: Our backgrounds as industrial designers allow us to have a unique perspective on things. We are able to not just piece together existing objects to create a desire shape or form but can conceive totally new ones and deploy a wide range of manufacturing techniques to have the part(s) made as economically and efficiently as possible.

You custom build your bikes according to the customer’s requirements. How do people usually react when they take their first ride on a motorcycle they have had a part in creating?
 
Steve: They probably feel like we do when we take our first ride on a self-initiated creation… they smile and take sneak peaks at their reflection in shop front windows. I'm guessing here, I don't really know, but the smile part does seem to be part and parcel.

Leo: Lots of smiles. I think one of our customers Tristan Schultz best sums this question up in one word: ‘Rad’.

Where do you feel you and your customers fit within the larger motorcycle culture?
 
Steve: I see myself as being of a previous generation to most of our customers. I'm more hands-on. I'm about style but style based on an earlier aesthetic. I also have a strong interest in what lies beneath… the nuts and bolts of it all. I see what our customers want and don't mind helping them achieve it.

I guess I fit in and perhaps our customers see me as the older guy who hangs out in the shed with the skills to give them what they want?

Our customers (so far) fit in as part of an emerging lifestyle trend - young 20 something males who've left uni, got a job, have some money (though not a lot), are into some creative thinking and want to be seen to be individuals (within the context of what they consider cool… which oddly seems to me to be quite specific, despite itself). They're not so interested in how or why it works, just that it does and what it looks like and means to them.

Leo: I guess I would be one of those 20 something males Steve has mentioned. For me it is about reshaping what people think of custom motorcycles. Whenever you tell someone that’s what you do you get the immediate response of, ‘oh yeah like American Chopper’. I have nothing against ostentatious style choppers but I would like to think that I am part of something that helps to define my generation and reflect our own aesthetic into our creations.

As for how our customers fitting into the wider motorcycling community. The motorcycling community is a fairly accepting bunch and there is a great sense of camaraderie, you nod your head or wave with your foot when you ride past one another (certainly don’t get that with drivers). I think our customers would fit into a niche, which is an emerging trend, and I would hope the wider motorcycling community would appreciate what we are trying to achieve.

Which three words do you think describe Ellaspede best?

Steve: Authentic, Innovative, Reliable.

Leo: Fun, Exciting, Evocative

Do you hope to expand your practice in the future? If so, how?

Steve: Certainly do… In fact we're fitting out our new, larger premises as we speak. The interest we've experienced has been very encouraging, but we always wanted Ellaspede to be something more than a house-based enterprise with an online-only presence. With the new place we'll (hopefully) be able to create the sort of scene that this style and lifestyle trend demands/ deserves.

Leo: Yes, we do have plans (as Steve mentioned). We would like to build on our strong customer base as well as introduce new people to our aesthetic.

As Brisbane locals, how do you think the city is perceived in terms of creative potential?

Steve: I think Brisbane is still the new kid on the Australian, perhaps even world block. But it has grown up dramatically over the last 20 years in every way and people now do take it seriously. It has become a destination for stuff going on.

Leo: Brisbane is great location for creation. We have great weather despite floods (which we have experienced first hand) and cyclones, great venues to host events and promote emerging talent and geographically positioned better than our Southern counterparts. Brisbane’s closer proximity and lack of day light savings means we can work on an more synchronization international level with neighbouring Austral Asian countries. This is great when creative people go from being cottage industry to mass manufacture it also opens up a larger market base. In terms of how it is perceived nationally, we are definitely taking the best from the other states and making it our own. On an international level we may still have someway to go but if the past 10 – 20 years are anything to go on we should be there soon.

What are your favourite Brisbane hotspots and why?

Steve: I don't go out much (remember I'm the older guy in the shed), but I do like the Woollongabba antiques district (though it still seems like it's missing things). It has age as part of its credentials and to me that's important. I find it difficult to respect fresh suburbs, or civil infrastructure. I can appreciate new things and like that they work efficiently and well… I just prefer the stories and history that older things possess. I see value in old, even broken things “I could use that for something down the track”… but you can’t keep everything.

Leo: Seems like every week there is something new is Brisbane, which is great - it means the city is alive. Hotspots for me, well you can never go wrong with Rosalie, West End and New Farm. For breakfast I’m a big fan of Sourced Grocer and Era cafe. Archive bar, Bowery, Woodland and Black Bear Lodge rate high on the list of local watering holes.