ART INSIGHTS Creating Wealth as a Successful Artist - John Dahlsen

“Questions on Plastic Bags” Interview withthe artistBy C.W. Thompson(Publication forthcoming)What inspired you to make art out ofplastic bags?Two things really, the first was the strongenvironmental messages I could conveyand the second was the great colours andforms I could create out of the material.I developed works using recycled plasticbags as the primary medium a few yearsago, “Blue River” was one of these worksusing this medium. This work was a finalistin the 2003 Wynne prize at the Art Galleryof NSW and signalled a slight departurefrom my more recognizable assemblageworks, in which I used plastics andother detritus collected from the Easternseaboard, “Thong Totems” which won theWynne Prize in 2000 is a good example.149