Marrawah
I couldn’t talk about influences without mentioning my hometown of Marrawah, on the far northwest coast of Tasmania. It’s a small, remote place, and we have quite a bit of family history here. The town itself is only about 400 people. There’s one pub and one shop. The landscape isn’t particularly dramatic. It doesn’t have huge cliff faces and mountains, but I developed a strong connection to surfing, snorkeling, swimming, and growing up close to the sea and land. I lived away from here for about 10 years, but I found myself continually making work about home, even while I was gone. Marrawah will always remain a central focus for me creatively, and I hope to convey it in a way that’s not romanticized by showing some of the more rugged aspects of life here.
Harrow
Harrow is my brother’s three-piece band, based in Hobart, Tasmania, where I lived before I moved back to Marrawah. Harrow makes fast, angsty, hard, at times melodic, at times punk music—the kind I grew up loving. Especially in Australia, there’s been a shift away from the grungy punk music of the ’90s toward “surf rock,” so I love seeing bands reviving that energy. Hobart has a great little community of punk and alternative bands who mainly play dive bars and house shows. They aren’t doing it for the money, and you can feel the passion and integrity that comes across as a result. I especially love listening to their music when I’m in the early stages of making a big painting. I don’t have to be too precious about anything at that point, and the music encourages me to be expressive, physical, and keep moving around.
Sarah Prior
When thinking about surfing influences, I could mention Steph Gilmore or any number of pros, but closer to home, the surfer who left the biggest impression on me is Sarah Prior. She’s originally from California but has been living in Marrawah for decades. She’s about 20 years older than me, so when I was a little girl, learning how to surf, I grew up watching her rip and charge big waves. I can remember thinking to myself, “I want to surf like her one day.” Later in life, it was super inspiring to see her on the beach breastfeeding her babies between sessions, because I want to start a family someday. The surf scene in this tiny town isn’t at all glamorous. You’re in a thick full suit and a hood. The weather can be crazy, and there are some gnarly reefbreaks. Sarah will paddle out alone when it’s double overhead, and she’s definitely not posting about it on Instagram.
August Blue
Deborah Levy is a South African-born, London-based author. Her works include novels, plays, and an autobiographical series. I recently finished her book August Blue. Levy’s writing is very poetic and precise, but also fun in its use of language. There’s a line where she mentions something coming “out of the blue,” and then she unpacks that phrase most poetically by playing around with what it means and questioning what this mysterious “blue” is that things keep coming out of. I use a lot of blue in my work, and that line springboarded me into thinking more about the color, to the point where my next show is going to be called Out of the Blue.
Elisabeth Cummings
I consistently return to the work of Australian painter Elisabeth Cummings. She’s in her nineties now and didn’t receive much recognition until very late in her career. It’s incredible given she’s someone who’s at the forefront of contemporary painting today, and I find it so badass seeing a woman her age casting that kind of influence. She has a lot of landscape-based work that I love, and her style falls in the realm of abstract, expressive, and textural. I have a book of her work in my studio that’s well-worn and covered in little splats of paint because I’m always picking it up.
For more about Zoe Grey, pick up a copy of TSJ 35.1 and read “The Lost Kids of Marrawah,” by Sean Doherty.
[Feature image by Nick Green]
