Previously published in SLUBS magazine, Brisbane Australia. 

how would you describe your films?

the films i make are usually a pretty straight documentation of an action usually involving myself, they loop and play until they are turned off. i am not really interested in technology, if i ever stop making films it will be out of frustration at the constant changing of the technology required. i want the films to be as simple and direct as possible without being live. but it gets complicated. the last couple of years i have found myself drifting away from film and more towards painting and sculpture but i got robbed the other week and had to buy a new camera so i am thinking of films again, but the technology thing is annoying. 

what is the art scene like in new zealand, are you seen as an outsider or is it welcoming?

everybody knows each other, it is small, which can be a good thing and a bad thing. I'm not sure how i am seen exactly but i wouldn't say that it is not welcoming. people seem to like my films.

who and what are the main influences in you work?

that is really hard to answer, there are so many artists, musicians, writers etc who's work has had effect on what i do. i constantly consume art. it is what gets me out of bed in the morning.. 

Andy Warhol was probably the first artist that made me want to make art, but i don't think of him that much anymore. i used to read his books over and over again in high school. the philosophy book and popism were the best. he is a great writer. i also love metal, i couldn't point out how exactly it has influenced my work but i know it has, probably more than anything else..

i think the main influence on my work would be just walking around, living life, having a job, getting depressed and then feeling happy again, noticing something.. something will stick out and it will stick in my mind for a while and then i will file it away and maybe use it later. i work at the public library, so i have space to think about these things. 

its about choosing, choosing one thing over another thing. 

how did your films come about being shown in the brisbane gallery of modern art?

somebody showed someone from the gallery a couple of them and they liked them and decided to buy some and then they put them in some shows.. I don't really know how these things work but that is in my mind what happened..

my favourite piece of yours is the one which you hold your mother in your arms for an extended period of time, could you further explain that piece?

theres not much to explain really, every year, sometime in march (usually towards the end) i pick my mother up and hold her in my arms for as long as i can. we do this in front of the flowery curtains. every year we get older and things happen, so every time the work is different. i shoot the work only once so if i get a bad grip or bad sleep the night before, the work will be shorter.. longer if i feel strong etc..

how do people usually respond to your work - how do you want them to respond?

i just want them to be happy.