From music to fashion, advertising to acrylics: Meet artistic 'chameleon' Kate Banazi

Artist and serial collaborator Kate Banazi has worked across a kaleidoscope of creative industries with vibrant results.

Ahead of her upcoming exhibition at Sydney Contemporary, she chats with Domain Prestige about what inspires her work.

Q: Tell us about your background, including your path to becoming an artist.

A: I grew up in London. My family worked in the creative industries – graphics, music, fashion, photography and art. I went on to study fashion at Central St Martins and worked in menswear design, print and textiles after college.

After I had my son, I had the opportunity to assist my friend Kate Gibb, a renowned silkscreen printer. Thirteen years ago I moved to Sydney.

Q: You’ve worked across different creative industries from music to fashion, illustration and advertising. Is there a common thread running through your work?

A: I get to team up with people whose work is interesting and who challenge me to work in a different way. The common thread would be a graphic aesthetic with a basis in line drawing with shape, colour and overlay.

Q: How did your collaboration with designer Tom Fereday come about?

A: Tom and I met not long after I moved to Sydney. I use his drawings as the basis to create abstract works in silkscreen (pictured top left). Tom trusts me to interpret his work without losing the essence of his original drawings or compromise the rigour of his practice.

Q: How does your heritage inform your work?

A: My family is very mixed heritage, including Indian, European, West Indian, American and Latino. It’s always in the background of my work, underpinning everything from colour choices to the dynamics or movement of a piece. For me, it’s impossible for heritage, family history and friendships not to have a bearing.

Q: You are showing at Sydney Contemporary. What can we expect to see from you?

A: I’ll be showing with Curatorial+Co a combination of hand-pulled silkscreen prints and coloured acrylic sculptures, some of which will have silkscreened sections.

Q: Do you have any advice for people considering incorporating sculpture into their own homes?

A: Consider the spaces you have available to show the sculptures at their best, including whether a piece needs breathing space around it or a position near a light source or a window to make it sing. That being said, the only advice that I follow is collecting art that I love.

Sydney Contemporary is at Carriageworks from 12 to 15 September. sydneycontemporary.com.au