I Nation Gallery of Australia
Lindy Lee: The Making of Ouroboros
II Sullivan+Strumpf
Website
III Sullivan+Strumpf
Bimonthly Magazine
IV Melbourne Art Fair
Book: Djeembena/Place
Lindy Lee: The Making of Ouroboros
2024
National Gallery of Australia
Soft cover book, 120pp
Editor, Project lead
On the occasion of its 40th anniversary, the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) commissioned celebrated Chinese-Australian artist Lindy Lee to create a work of scale and significance, one that would live permanently in the Gallery's forecourt. The largest commission granted to a single artist in the history of Australia, the resulting work was ouroboros: an immersive 4.2 tonne stainless steel sculpture representing 60,000 hours of work by more than 200 high skilled people.
To celebrate the work's unveiling, Nick Mitzevich, director of the NGA, invited me to serve as editor of a book that would trace the making of this immersive sculpture. This publication set out to bring audiences closer to the conceptualisation, engineering, and fabrication of ouroboros. A materially sensitive print output was conceptualised by myself and the graphic design team wherein the print effects were selected to echo the material quality of the work itself through silver foil on the book's cover and with translucent silver ink overlays throughout the publication.
As project manager and editor for Lindy Lee: The Making of Ouroboros, I was responsible for directing all elements of the project including selecting a graphic design studio; commissioning interviews; collaborating with graphic designers to determine design direction and execute design objectives; adhere to strict budgets and deadlines; select and liaise with onshore printers; contribute copywriting; copyedit provided texts; and organising photography licensing with various photographers. lindy lee: the making of ouroboros was delivered on budget, on schedule and to an exemplary standard. All units sold out within 6 months.
★
Sullivan+Strumpf Website
2023
Sullivan+Strumpf
Digital Production, Project Management
Communications Manager
The visual look of the website was overhauled while maintaining the gallery's original and enduring logo. While being visually sensitive to both the gallery's brand image, the foremost purpose of the redesign was to create a premier tool for the gallery's commercial objectives. Offering several intuitive client touch points, the new website allowed the gallery to consensually capture customer data and observe trends in behaviour to better tailor sales approaches and client relations.
The visual language of the website went on to be applied to the gallery's eDMs and in-house magazine to create a wholistic brand look. The management of all communications channels was brought in-house with each team member empowered to use these tools within their respective roles.
★
Sullivan+Strumpf
Magazine 2023–2025
Sullivan+Strumpf,
Soft cover quarterly magazine, 80–100pp
Managing editor
In response to the rapid changes businesses found themselves needing to make in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Sullivan+Strumpf began to produce a bi-monthly magazine. At the beginning of my tenure with the gallery, I saw an opportunity to develop the editorial scope of the magazine and elevate the design so as to shift the imprint from a gallery catalogue to a thoughtful publication that offered greater meaning to contemporary art in Australia.
Following the redesign of the gallery's website, I worked with the same design team to reimagine the visual rationale and style guide of the magazine. Beginning as a small scale client outreach initiative, the gallery now distributes the magazine to its network of clients, curators, collaborators, gallery directors, writers and artists both in Australia and overseas.
My role as managing editor of the Sullivan+Strumpf magazine oversaw the delivery of 4 issues a year. I oversaw the commissioning of writers, including Eriola Pira, Jennifer Higgie, Alice Proctor; interviewed arts professionals aligned with the gallery; contributed to the publication through copywriting, copyediting and photography; worked with the graphic designer to drive each issue with a fresh visual layout in line with brand style guide; worked with on-shore printers on the production of each issue; secured advertisements from aligned businesses; and managed the distribution of all units to extensive list of recipients.
★
Melbourne Art Fair
Djeembana Place 2022
Melbourne Art Fair
Soft cover book, 320pp
Project Lead
For the 2022 edition of melbourne art fair, the Fair sought to both reflect on the history of event and posit projections for the Fair's future. To that end, I was granted the opportunity to produce a publication in-house, a tome that was a guide to the 2022 edition of the Fair, as well as a recognition of its 35 year history and its future in the landscape of contemporary art in Australasia.
Leading this project involved commissioning creative writers to respond to the Fair's thematic; conducting interviews with significant figures from the Australian arts landscape; coordinating features with 73 galleries and arts organisations; collaborating with graphic designers on design direction and execution; securing sponsorship from onshore printers to support the cost of a limited print run; managing book sales and inventory of the publication for onsite retail operations; distribution of units to all galleries and commercial partners; and working to a limited and strict budget.
The publication, titled for the Fair's 2022 thematic djeembana/place, was launched with the opening of the Fair and serves as a time stamp for what was a significant moment in the narrative of Melbourne Art Fair.