KINK feature: GWA (Wade Goring)
Taken Up (high-quality prints available in the shop)
artist: GWA (Wade Goring)
Sydney, NSW, Australia
artist instagram
(images featured below will also appear in the KINK book. available in the shop now.)
Your work in five words or less?
Weird, wild, bright, humorous, arousing.
Personal kink?
Umm, well, what to say remembering that this will be in print with my name attached. I’d say that I’m not all that ‘kinky’ but I do appreciate a good, hard fucking.
Turn-ons?
I definitely like being around creative, open people who have a wicked sense of humor. I’m a bit of a home body - I love putting on some music, cracking a bottle of wine and spending a few hours drawing or painting. Bliss! I love to learn too - so when I’m not creating I’m often watching online tutorials of reading about new techniques and ways of creating.
Turn-offs?
Not a fan of organized religions or institutes that oppress opinions and ideas. And I hate wasting time! Time is so finite that it should be used to create and better yourself.
Favorite subject?
If you’ve seen my work you’ll recognize that I enjoy drawing the male form. I also like to make people laugh and point out absurdities in life - of which there are many.
Ideal place to display your work?
In my own home the only place where my work is hanging on a wall is in the toilet (bathroom) which I think is funny. Everywhere else in the house is art by other people. I do very much enjoy seeing my works in a gallery space. Often I think ‘Wow, they actually look like real artworks!’
Favorite non-art pastime?
I do a lot of cooking which often becomes another creative outlet.
Most memorable project?
Probably my first solo exhibition. I hired the gallery, did all the marketing, etc and it was the first time that I was present in the room with my works and the public, open to questions and feedback. It was really eye-opening in a good way. The experience completely demystified who I thought my audience was. I thought that I was making work that would only appeal to the queer community however many other people responded to it in very positive ways.
Art crush?
I love the work of God Machine for his darkness, Alex Pardee for his sheer craziness and use of color, Ismael Alvarez for his daring yet hilarious homoerotic work and Ego Rodriguez for his simplicity and capture of the male body.
Personal crayon color?
Carnal Nightmare Pink.
What is unique about your process?
For me, everything is about the idea or concept. When I can see a work in my mind I then start thinking about what will be the best practice or technique to realize it. Often it's illustration, however I’m always trying and learning new things- whatever it takes to bring that image in my head out into the real world. This is how I’ve ended up experimenting in a number of different art making areas and why my work, particularly at the moment, merges a number of different techniques together to form the final piece. Now, more than ever, there are so many ways to create, I couldn’t imagine only sticking to one. "The weirder the better," is also my mantra. If a work starts to feel normal or average in any way, it’s time to start over.
Why make art?
I’ve always felt compelled to create, and that compulsion has manifested in many different ways over the years. I started drawing from a very young age, my grandmother was a commercial artist who drew products for department store catalogs back in the 1950s and 60s, so I think I got a lot from her. Ever since childhood my art has come from visions of concepts and ideas, often humorous ones. As I got older and entered adulthood, discovered more about myself and embraced my sexuality, those visions became more detailed and more meaningful to how I saw myself.
What's next?
Things are starting to pick up again after the pandemic - I’m in a few group shows through the rest of this year. I’ve had several commissions come though too, for a lot of different kinds of art from cartoon characters to historical recreations. And I’ve been exploring abstract painting which proves to be a good creative reset in-between illustrating gigs.
