Studio space 04

Mia Quinn

Naarm-based multidisciplinary artist

Photo by Mia Quinn

‘I need to have a well-lit space where I’m able to see the outside world. It’s especially nice here in the afternoon when the sunlight streams into my room. I think I make art in my room out of necessity. My practice—which primarily involves dye, paint and large fabric—can be invasive, especially since I live in a shared space, so I almost have to be confined to my room. I feel like it’s a good thing, though, because I have to face myself and I hate that.’

‘I spend a lot of time mulling over ideas before I begin. It always feels like I’m procrastinating, but I think that I need that mulling time. There’s so much going on in my room—I’m not only surrounded by my materials, but also my responsibilities and my thoughts, so I always make myself tea to regulate my thinking and to settle myself. Music is also inextricable from my ideation process. I get really excited by the atmosphere of a song, which is the kind of space that I want to exist within my own artworks. I just have to move through my mess to get there.’