Nitsua: Prescribed Dreaming
Nitsua is Austin backwards.
Austin is an artist living in Byron Bay who paints murals, furniture, skateboards, surfboards, and designs clothing and fabric patterns. He uses the name “Nitsua” because it reflects his unorthodox, flipped around approach to creating art:
“Anything that isn’t being done – I like to explore that!”
His artwork has a strong pop/beach culture feel with solid shapes and bold colours, something he attributes to his former career as a graphic designer.
“If you see my work now, there’s still a lot of clean lines in it,” he explains.
Prescribed Dreaming is Nitsua’s recently opened exhibition in Sydney. A solo show comprising old and new works, it’s his biggest in eight years. Asked about the title, he explains.
“Prescribed Dreaming – that’s me in a nutshell really. It’s about freedom of expression.”
After the limiting, subservient confines of being a commercial artist, he feels he can now set his own criteria for his inspiration.
Nitsua has been a long time fan and collector of vintage and retro items, a lot of which he uses as “canvases”. Stools, lampshades, bedside drawers and coffee tables are amongst his collection of works, all painted with vibrant patterns and colours reminiscent of the ’60’s and ’70’s.
When so much time, effort and skill has been put into these items, you would expect he’d want them treated as art works, but Nitsua is more than happy for them to be used as intended, even skateboards and surfboards.
“It’s functional art at the end of the day, I think thats even better than something that just goes on the wall,” he notes, adding that more people actually get to see it if it’s being used.
True, not many people have ever seen someone catch a wave on a Monet. (RB)
Until Nov 24, Mon-Fri 10am-5pm. The Fostered Gallery, Lvl 4, 72-84 Foveaux St, Surry Hills. FREE. Info: www.facebook.com/FosteredAUS
BY RITA BRATOVICH
