Anna-Lucinda wears all-over fringed top, and structured navy skirt, both by Christian Wijnants.
She seems to show up everywhere, somehow. You spot her poring over a painting at an exhibition opening. You glimpse her amongst the crowd at a show. She’s taking a table at your favourite restaurant. Who is she?
She is a tireless supporter (and frequent participant) of each and every facet of the arts and creative industries. She is a mother, a model, a facilitator, an artist in her own right. She is our friend. She is Anna-Lucinda Baxter, of course.
Dilettante catches up with Anna-Lucinda on site at Kamilė Gallery’s Claremont space for an insight into the life creative.
All-over fringed top, and structured navy skirt, both by Christian Wijnants. Worn with the platform court shoe by MM6 Maison Margiela.
Anna-Lucinda, for as long as we’ve known you it seems like you’ve always been championing local creatives - working with someone new, shouting someone on Instagram. What do you think makes the Perth scene so special?
Perth has a fine balance between separation and connection. Its geographical isolation fosters collaboration and connection within the local creative community.
I see musicians, writers, visual and performance artists all producing works that I want to thank them for. I love to promote them on social media so they can gain broader community acknowledgment.
What draws you so strongly to art?
Throughout the years of my youth and beyond, art, in its broadest sense, has provided an alternate inner language in which to explore ideas when written or spoken language is simply not sufficient. It helps me to see how others have made meaning out of the time and place in which they live and helps to make sense of my life and the part I play in the broader community.
Artists can make life’s complexity simple and accessible. Think of the complexity of human emotion made more accessible to millions in Munch’s “The Scream”. The complexity of our post-colonial relationship with the Western Australian landscape can be showcased, opening conversations that allow for important ideas and social commentaries to be explored.
Left: Acid tank top by Rick Owens, worn with bias-cut satin trousers by Jaga. Worn with platform sandals by Rick Owens. Right: The MM6 Maison Margiela one-shoulder, tailored jumpsuit and chequered mules.
You’ve recently come to a curatorial role with Kamilė Gallery, which seems like a very natural progression into arts facilitation.
We all have a role and I believe I've found mine at the Gallery. Working in this environment connects my life and work experiences in a way that is both personally productive, and of benefit to our artists and our clients.
Artists have a special way of expressing their identity and the collective identity of the community of which they are a part, but also separate. I can facilitate them in this exploration from a distance, while also sharing that view. Art helps us all to make meaning of what it is to be human – to see, to think, to feel, to dream, to fear, to wonder. It can express all of this and more.
My focus is on contemporary local and Australian artists and we have some exciting exhibitions planned for this year. I am looking forward to working with those artists and building relationships. I am very new in this space, so I am aware that my work and expertise will be visible in the coming months and years.
I plan to facilitate exhibitions that promote artists that will satisfy the creative needs of our existing client base and also draw in new clients through the quality and diversity of our collections.
Left: The MM6 Maison Margiela one-shoulder jumpsuit with earring by Miro Miro. Right: Crinkle polka-dot button top by Pas de Calais, worn with Pleats Please navy wafer skirt. MM6 Maison Margiela puffy sandals.
You’ve worked alongside some really amazing people in so many capacities over your career - some might even call you a dilettante! What have been some especially formative experiences for you?
I do have a real curiosity about the creative process and ways of thinking across a range of fields, disciplines, and mediums, and have been fortunate to have opportunities that allowed me to work with learn and from others who are far more talented and established in their respective fields. Does this make me a Dilettante? ;)
Jordy Hewitt put me forward as a subject for [photographer] Liz Looker in 2015. Having the opportunity to work with, observe, and listen to Liz over several years has consolidated existing ideas and opened many more new ideas for contemplation and refinement. I admire and respect Liz greatly, she has impacted me a lot. Her work is very important I believe.
In terms of memories looking back, some significant modelling moments; meeting Yohji at a casting in Paris and being properly star struck, opening first face for Chanel in Sydney when I was 17. Throughout it all though, life has provided many experiences where a sense of failure gives rise to self-reflection and subsequent learning. Times of great challenge and adversity have created resilience in my character. I have a long way to go and a lot to learn.
Left: Issey Miyake box-pleated top and royal blue crepe trousers. Worn with MM6 Maison Margiela puffy sandals. Right: Acid tank top by Rick Owens, bias-cut trousers by Jaga, and quilted purse by Christian Wijnants.
Amongst all your wonderful work, you're also a mother to beautiful six-year-old Arthur! What do you hope to pass on to your son?
I include Artie in my social activities, ideas and interests I am pursuing. Belonging to communities that are diverse and sustaining curiosity about life, seeking out creative opportunities to learn and grow are what I wish Artie to witness me experiencing in my life – kids learn so much from watching and doing. At the most basic I want him to be healthy, happy and always growing as a person. I want him to explore the things that interest him. Childhood is the most magic period of one’s mind being an open book to everything. He is currently really into drawing, reading, music (obsessed with David Bowie), bees and worms so supporting those interests is currently my priority.
Throughout our day to day, I do my best to include fundamentals like, awareness of our environment, kindness and consideration of others and ultimately to value the gifts he has been given; he ability to wonder, explore, learn and create.
Finally, do you have a vision for the future?
In Perth, our creative community works hard in a state where sport continues to maintain a stronghold in mainstream media. Imagine a future where creative endeavours filled the back six pages of the state’s newspaper daily!
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Photographed on location at Kamilė Gallery in Claremont.
Artwork pictured throughout: Works on canvas by Matthew McVeigh from his show Internal States. Neon works by George Aitken.