THE ART OF COLLABORATION
Two rising stars of the contemporary art world are on their way to Byron Bay to share their secrets of success and the story behind their unique collaborative working arrangement.
Working side by side, artists Nick Morris and Dave Bowers regularly paint over each other’s work, trashing hours, days or weeks worth of the other’s compositions. The only explanation required is the phrase, “Doug has entered the building”. Then they just move on, to the next idea or inspiration that takes them.
The Doug that they’re referring to is the almighty Doug Bartlett, who Morris and Bowers credit with ‘continually forcing their creativity’. Despite being somewhat of a hard taskmaster, the two artists agree that he is the commanding voice who keeps them on track, driving them well beyond the need to pander to each other’s egos.
Doug in fact is a construct, the holy grail of artist pseudonyms, and much more in addition. He’s a star on the Doug Bartlett website, oft referenced, quoted and even photographed - a mustachioed playboy with a certain 70s style, surrounded by a bevy of beautiful naked women.
If this all sounds like just a quirky bit of fun, then you should check out how Doug’s work is selling.
Whilst Nick Morris and Dave Bowers are both established artists in their own right, it’s their collaborative work that’s most regularly in demand by buyers in Australia and internationally.
Bree Delian from Retrospect Galleries, Byron Bay represents the guys in NSW and says they are by far the Galleries best seller.
“We must have sold over 60 of their works in the past six months, which is quite incredible given the price bracket their art fits into,” Delian comments. “And in this time, the value of their canvases has more than tripled, which makes them very popular with collectors.”
Morris and Bowers describe their Doug Bartlett works as “a free-flowing exchange of random images and themes”, where individual contributions intertwine and overlap in a chaotic dance that they say reflects “the constant barrage from global mass media”.
They are known to work on up to 40 canvases at a time, using a mix of stencils, spray paint, silkscreen and freehand drawings. Words, phrases, full sentences appear on the canvas too, all gleaned from popular culture.
The pair studied together at Monash Uni in the 80s and then spent the early days of their careers working for iconic Australian street and surf brands such Mambo, Quicksilver, Mossimo and Stussy.
Old friends, they eventually started working together when they discovered they were based in the same neighbourhood, along the surf coast of Victoria.
Although they have similar backgrounds, their individual styles and techniques are quite different, but they both agree that Doug Bartlett rules, with his radical code and philosophy.
As Morris describes it, “Our rule of painting over anything you want creates art with no boundaries, free from clinging and being too precious, and the creative process is accelerated as we bounce off each other.”
Bowers agrees, saying that he gets a huge kick out of sharing canvases because of the chaotic momentum. “Working alone you can sometimes labour over a detail for hours, but with a shared canvas, someone else – usually Doug, will just boldly paint right over it and I'll think what a bloody relief.”
Coming up soon, Doug Bartlett will be appearing ‘In Conversation’ at Why Not Café on Thursday September 24th, to talk about their inspiration, their unique code and their boom or bust experience of the contemporary arts industry.
There’s limited tickets available at $40 a head, including a two course meal and glass of wine. After the talk, guests will be invited back to Retrospect Galleries for an exclusive preview of their new Doug Bartlett exhibition, Global Boom, opening Friday September 25th.
Dj Slinky 
Art from Japan and Ginza LAb on Right Fawn Gehweiler 
