April Phillips’ augmented realities
April Phillips is a Wiradjuri-Scottish woman of the Galari peoples. Her arts practice is cemented in digital arts; illustration, VR + AR research and in her role as a peer mentor for the next generation of artists. April leans into character design as a narrative tool to explore empathy, fun and form. Her use of vivid colour and unlikely digital processes celebrates the potential of computer art for a new world.
This conversation took place in January 2021 on the occasion of April Phillip’s Firstdraft exhibition EGG.
Interview by JD Reforma, Communications and Engagement Manager, Firstdraft.
“[I] use a virtual clay – a computer simulation of clay which reacts using tools in real time.”
JD Reforma: The works in this exhibition centre your interest in character design – how do you generate the characters and figures in your work?
April Phillips: I find figures and character design as a format so interesting to play in, especially since working with the Pictoplasma Academy in Berlin in 2019. I find it fun to work with form in figures and enjoy experimentation in this area. I love that placing facial features instantly brings life to an artwork and that this can be reworked to be unexpected.
April Phillips, EGG, 2021, installation view (detail), Firstdraft, Sydney. Photo: Zan Wimberley. Courtesy the artist.
April Phillips, EGG, 2021, installation view (detail), Firstdraft, Sydney. Photo: Zan Wimberley. Courtesy the artist.
“I see another world and try to build it in a way that feels immersive.”
April Phillips, EGG, 2021, installation view (detail), Firstdraft, Sydney. Photo: Zan Wimberley. Courtesy the artist.
“On a studio day I would be on my devices experimenting with virtual clay and testing the limits of how I could make in this way.”
JDR: Your work features very vivid, layered colours – can you explain how you produce your print work and the relationship between this and your AR/VR research?
AP: The works on paper are screen prints made in individual layers with glow inks. The colours overlay to make new colours – a magical process! The way I make these 3D object files is to use a virtual clay – a computer simulation of clay which reacts using tools in real time. I work from a space of intuition with many failures and tests to get to a finished result.
The relationship between this screen print work and my research in emerging technologies is parallel – I see another world and try to build it in a way that feels immersive. Each of the large prints is mapped with an augmented reality of colour flow to reveal transformation and impermanence.
April Phillips, Egg Cluster, 2020, LED lights, sand dimensions variable, installation view (detail), Firstdraft, Sydney. Photo: Zan Wimberley. Courtesy the artist.
JDR: There is an installation featuring coloured, spherical lights – can you elaborate on how this work anchors and informs the other artworks in the exhibition?
AP: The spherical forms are representative of an egg, protected in a sand nest and ready to hatch. I feel like the point end of the gallery was a lovely site for a nest of the future, a safe spot for vulnerable potential to grow and form. I liked the idea of seeing a sense of transition in the works. the glowing eggs are not yet hatched, but promise change and possibility.
JDR: Your work and practice straddle many different disciplines – what does a typical work or studio day look like for you?
AP: I work as a Creative Learning producer for Big hART working with young people in Roebourne WA and nationally to build up skills in digital art making. I get so much energy from live virtual workshops sharing skills and seeing young people grow. In 2020 Big hART launched Creative Fridays to give time and space to all the creatives in our team to work on their practice and take a slower day. On a studio day I would be on my devices experimenting with virtual clay and testing the limits of how I could make in this way. There was also many hours spent at Megalo print studio in Canberra – making the screen prints by hand and building my new skills in this area.
April Phillips, Egg Cluster, 2020, LED lights, sand dimensions variable, installation view (detail), Firstdraft, Sydney. Photo: Zan Wimberley. Courtesy the artist.
April Phillips, EGG, 2021, installation view (detail), Firstdraft, Sydney. Photo: Zan Wimberley. Courtesy the artist.
JDR: How has your work as a peer mentor shaped your own practice and attitude towards work?
AP: Working with young people is very important to me. I feel that the art of young people is often discounted, yet I recognise all of the power within their hands. I learn a lot about creativity and freedom of expression from young artists, I hope some of the fun rubs off onto my practice.
“I learn a lot about creativity and freedom of expression from young artists”
April Phillips, EGG, 2021, installation view (detail), Firstdraft, Sydney. Photo: Zan Wimberley. Courtesy the artist.
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