Musician Jess Green and Skywhale(s) creator Patricia Piccinini combine to breathe further air into Canberra’s iconic airborne associates By Ruth O’Brien Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a bloody Skywhale! Never in my wildest did I think the word “Skywhale” would come out of my mouth, nor could I forsee scribing this fantastical name even once, let alone as many times as I now have. But how incredibly glad I am, not only write and talk about the Skywhale and now, Skywhalepapa, but also have the opportunity to sit down and chat with the artist, Patricia Piccinini, and Canberra musician, Jess Green (aka PhEnO), about their collaboration on the song We Are The Skywhales. Now, if you’ve not yet listened to the song, stop, head to your fave digital streaming service and give it a spin. Isn’t it divine? Quite frankly, how could it not be, having been written by Green, one of Canberra’s most prolific and successful musicians. Green has enjoyed an amazing music career since graduating with First Class Honours from the ANU School of Music in 2001. She’s been a session guitarist for some of the country’s biggest musicians, sharing stages with the likes of Clare Bowditch, Deborah Conway, Katie Noonan, Tim Rogers, and Urthboy. I met up with these two beautiful, creative women at The Street Theatre (where PhEnO happens to be playing a show on 10 April, but more on that in a bit). Piccinini recalls how the two met and started working together. “We have a friend in common called Nell. She recommended I check out Jess’ work. I really connected with it. I loved the ideas in it, loved the music quality, and I really loved her voice. And I said to Nell, ‘do you reckon I can contact her?’ And she said, ‘of course you can!’” Nell, also an artist, who has recently been part of the Know My
Name initiative at the National Gallery of Australia (NGA), had previously worked with Green and seemed to know that she and Piccinini might be a good fit. A few emails later, the ball was rolling. “I remember the moment we first talked really clearly,” Green recalls. I was at the Boundless Playground with my kids… and I sat in the carpark [on my phone] looking at the sky and remember seeing clouds right next to the Carillon. It was a visceral moment, talking about the ideas and looking at the sky and this other Canberra icon”, laughs Green. When you listen to the lyrics of the song, you can almost envisage part of what Green might have seen in these first moments. and as we soar among the clouds we see ourselves in the shadows below and all the other creatures free living together in a delicate flow Green talks more about her creative process in composing the fun, whimsical, and catchy tune. “I felt the responsibility of talking to Patricia’s ideas. So I took that very seriously. But I also felt super free and joyous because I was allowed to just make my work.” Green says the project gave her a huge amount of freedom to move forward. In other songwriting projects, where she has been restricted by certain parameters, this collaboration was unique in that she was allowed to just make art the way she does it. “That’s why it worked out so well, because it is your best work”, Piccinini says to Green. “You’re not emulating anyone else, you’re doing you, and you’re the best at it”. “I’m the best at me!” laughs Green.
Jess Green in full PhEnO flight PAGE 32
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