Biography
The And Collective comprises four Melbourne artists practicing in various media. We are: Rik Lee (illustrator/graphic designer), Marc Martin (illustrator/photographer/graphic designer), Dan Rule (writer/editor), and Justine Ellis (production assistant/photographer).
In 2001 we collated and produced a small-scale book, And Collective Number One, with no external funding. The book featured the work of local artists and focused on their sense of place in Melbourne. After being released in April 2002, the book was stocked by local bookshops and all printed copies were sold out.
Throughout 2003 we produced a larger-scale publication, of 1000 copies, which drew from the work of an extensive group of Melbourne-based contributors and again explored the theme of place. The book, And Collective Number Two, was launched in May 2004, and distributed to a wide network of bookshops, both in Melbourne and interstate. The book garnered significant media interest, and articles on the And Collective appeared in leading graphic design magazine Desktop, fashion and art journal Poster, and youth culture magazine Monster Children, as well as a radio interview on 3RRR’s arts program. We were later invited to relaunch the book and conduct a panel on independent publishing as part of the This Is Not Art festival in Newcastle during October of that year.
We are currently involved in a third book project, produced in conjunction with the Next Wave Festival, and aligned to its 2006 theme of Empire Games. The project is entitled Personal Empires and showcases some of Australia’s most exciting young artists, illustrators, photographers and writers, including: Kat Macleod, Jonathon Chong, Meg Mundell, Amy Alexander, Amelie Scalercio, Toby Burke, Meg Courtney, Bridie Lunney and Ben Wilhelms.
The book will be published in a limited run of 500 copies and launched on March 30, 7pm at LOOP, 23 Meyers Place, Melbourne.
Contributor Biographies
Amy Alexander is curious and made of caramel. She is not a robot. She just hates NASA.
Born in Melbourne, Toby Burke is perhaps best known as founder of US-based band Horse Stories. He currently lives with his wife in North Fitzroy and works as a writer and musician.
Melbourne-based artist Jonathan Chong works in a variety of media including video, print, photography and installation. He likes old cameras and Super-8 footage.
Meg Courtney’s poetry has been published in Quadrant, Voiceworks and The Best Australian Poems 2004 (Ed. Les Murray). She was recently short-listed for the 2005 SOYA Award.
Justine Ellis has been taking photos for a while now, and has published her work in the first two And Collective books. She loves her new house by the sea.
Rik Lee is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer. Sometimes he paints. Sometimes he writes. And sometimes he types his own bio in the third person.
Bridie Lunney is currently studying sculpture at RMIT, which means she enjoys making video art. When she’s not being a Melbournian she goes bush.
Kat Macleod is a graphic designer and illustrator. Since And Collective Book Two she has acquired another beautiful brown Burmese cat, called Suzy.
Marc Martin operates a forgery ring in his spare time. He currently likes Weiss bars.
Meg Mundell is a New Zealand-born author, journalist, researcher and teacher living in Melbourne. She wants to write a non-fiction novel about trucking. Please send her $23,000.
Dan Rule is a freelance writer and editor from Melbourne, but recently moved to the seaside. His sleeping patterns are often interrupted by an ‘awakening’ of cockatoos.
Amelie Scalercio likes to draw and paint in between extended periods of watching TV and procrastinating. In between this, she ties her hand to her friend and they make drawings.
Ben Wilhelms is a 26-year-old dad, a Melbournian, and a visual artist working in the sphere of conceptual photography, drawing on personal experience and observation.
contact:
andcollective@yahoo.com
