The only time that a serious case of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) is a good thing is when you’re an artist and it helps you to be better at your craft. Helen Neville is an artist from Melbourne who grew up with a weird strain of OCD whereby she feels compelled to put like colours together. For instance she likes to pass her time by grouping different shades of the same coloured textas into piles and “marvel at how they stimulate her eye.” As a teen, her disorder manifested itself in a problem with the colour blue where she was only comfortable sitting on blue chairs, eating blue food and wearing blue clothes.
Her new show features a series of specifically coloured still life style photos. She asked a different artist to create a response to each piece — each of which sit on the opposite wall. We went to the show and it looked great but we had no idea what she was on about.
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VICE: What’s your new show all about?
Helen: Well, I have un-surfaced skills as a food stylist. I got off on the food arranging, making berries tumble and apples glisten but I am no professional. The other day I was reading some art garb and it made me realise I am an Imitation Realist. I’m having a go at the truth. I love serving suggestion photos and menu light boxes at Chinese take out. If only the food could be as good as it is in the photos. This interaction I call the hyper-real exchange — an interaction between a hyper reality and its influence on the consumer.
Who else was involved?
It was the responsibility of five other artists: Andrew Atchison, Ned Lanarch-Jones, Kelly Murphy, Grant Nimmo and LedZephyr to demonstrate that there was indeed an annex to what you saw. I wanted these artists to illustrate my theory of the hyper-real exchange by formalising what these shots were before their cosmetic surgery. So the name of the show was Ditto, looking at ideas of reproduction and exchange between fact and fantasy.
What’s up next for the Nevs?
I’m making a rainbow out of different company logos and calling it The Divisive Use Of Colour In Advertising. I’m creating and ad campaign with five white haired little boys in five different bedrooms of five different colours, wearing five different pairs of sneakers. I’ll be adding to my logo tattoo sleeve and probably just fucken looking at ads I suppose.
Helen Neville’s show, Ditto, is on now at Seventh Gallery, 218 Johnston St Fitzroy 3065
