Filthyratbag — Interview

[FILTHYRATBAG]

CELESTE MOUNTJOY IS A CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIAN ARTIST WHO GREW UP ON THE INTERNET AND IS BEST KNOWN BY HER INSTAGRAM HANDLE, @FILTHYRATBAG. WITH SOME PROMPTING FROM OUR RESIDENT ART GUY, EDDIE ZAMMIT, CELESTE LETS US IN ON THE THINGS THAT INSPIRE HER, MAKE HER VULNERABLE AND MAKE HER LAUGH.

PHOTOS — HOLLY HAWKINS INTERVIEW — EDDIE ZAMMIT SHOOT DIRECTION — EDDIE ZAMMIT

ALL ROADS LEAD TO SOMETHING, SOMETHING.

Left to Right I’m the fool. 2019 All roads lead to something, something. 2019 I do not think. 2021 Celeste Mountjoy is articulate, smart, talented and troublesome all at the same time. She is a young, contemporary Australian artist and illustrator who uses social media to her fullest potential to express her news and views to the world. On Instagram, Celeste’s moniker is @fithyratbag and her 400k followers are already ahead of the curve, recognising she’s half artist and half writer. Her anecdotes, comments, sarcasm and wit all create Celeste’s unique tone and voice. She has a lot to say.

Not much rattles the cage of @flithyratbag. She’s confident and empowered and her voice shines through in her combinations of illustrations and words. Mountjoy agrees, explaining, “I’ve always loved the mixture of writing and drawing as a form of storytelling.” Her story—at the tender age of 21—has hardly been told. Celeste knows all too well that people judge any good book by its cover. But she also knows that the real juicy content is in the middle. Remember her name. Celeste Mountjoy. She’s as memorable as her Instagram handle. And for her, the best is yet to come.

POUR MY HEART OUT WITH ART FROM A VERY YOUNG AGE..” EMOTIONAL, SO CONCEPTUALLY IT FELT LIKE I COULD “I’VE ALWAYS BEEN RIDICULOUSLY DRAMATIC AND

Dare I ask, where did you get your name, Filthyratbag, from?

It was thrown around when I was little, kind of an innocent scold. I used to cut stuff up and draw on walls a lot, like a little shit. Most kids are total ratbags. I decided to use it as my social media handle when I was around 15 to give me some sense of anonymity to sign off on my art with. I felt it made it a lot easier for me to draw what I wanted to draw and say what I wanted to say. I remember posting a photo of myself on Facebook after I’d grown a bit of a following and I received all these messages from people saying they thought I’d been a bloke all along; I thought that was interesting. I’m happy with signing off as Celeste Mountjoy now, but I’m thankful I’ve had Filthyratbag as a bit of a comfort tag.

Step back for a moment. How did you get to this very point in your career?

I’ve been drawing ever since I can remember, and it’s been my one consistent love – storytelling and drawing. Dad had an old school dial-up computer at his house so when I’d go over to his as a kid, I’d muck around on MS Paint and talk to strange men on the internet. Having access to the internet as a kid is kind of mind blowing, it shows you how big the world is in a totally different light than books do. When I was a teenager, I started uploading my drawings to social media and I really enjoyed seeing that people found what I was doing relatable or interesting. It encouraged me to make more until eventually I was lucky enough to take it on as my full-time job after school finished.

How did you develop your art style? It’s been pretty consistent for several years now.

I’ve never had much patience with drawing, I’ve always been a fan of instant gratification and the imperfection that comes along with it and I think that gives my drawings a certain look.

I’ve always been ridiculously dramatic and emotional, so conceptually it felt like I could pour my heart out with art from a very young age. As I grew into a teenager, I think I found humour a good way of coping with sensitivity and what I was experiencing. You have to be able to laugh at yourself and the sad shit around you otherwise things get disastrous! I think when you’re making art that is so personal it has no choice but to develop a style. It’s so much a part of me.

“THE INTERNET AS A WHOLE WAS SO INFLUENTIAL TO ME AS A KID, IT’S HUGE. OBVIOUSLY, THERE ARE TOXIC PARTS OF IT, BUT I FEEL VERY LUCKY TO HAVE HAD ACCESS TO IT THEN AND NOW.”

In my opinion, women are dominating the art world. And yes, clearly, it’s about time. Who are some female artists on the rise?

There are so many girls doing so many different things. A couple that I’ve loved looking at this year [are] Alex Graham, a comic artist whose comic book Dog Biscuits is a masterpiece; Tilly Lawless is an Aussie writer who’s just made a beautiful book called Nothing But My Body; Lele Lopez makes [textile] art rugs using a huge gun and you can hang them up on your wall; Sarah Hagale makes drawings that are fine lined and hypnotising. I could go on.

I love your low-brow sensibilities. I am under no illusion that you are serious about what you do though. How do you strike a balance between piss-take and thoughtful observation?

I think seriousness has been a problem for me! Every small anxiety or heartache I have makes me feel like my world is on fire if I allow it to. Humour is soothing, and so is relatability; communicating what I need to through art is therapeutic. I can decide where the balance lies depending on what it is I need the work to communicate.

You recently posted an illustration that boldly stated, “Your turn to be looked after.” Is that you in this artwork? If so, it begs the question – who looks after you?

Kitt Bennett cooks me dinner most nights and today he packed me a lunchbox to bring into the studio. He’s a paint genius and a roast chook master. We really can have it all.

When do you struggle with your art practice? Do you struggle? And how do you move forward from that?

If I start struggling, I take a break. No point forcing anything. It never comes out right if you do!

Tell us about your artwork ideas. Your work reads like a journal of personal observations. Where do you find your own personal inspiration?

Obsessing over feelings and experiences. It’s super self-indulgent, but I go over things again and again. When I was 11, I started doing this compulsively and it resulted in full blown nervous meltdowns. My dad used to tell me to “change the record” I was playing on repeat in my head. At that age it was really hard to make sense of things like I can as an adult, or at least find the humour or the meaning in “the record”. Now I’ve gotten better at doing that, and it results in less nervous meltdowns and more art.

It would be remiss of me not to talk about your social media following. How important is social media to you and your craft?

It’s essential to me in terms of having a job as an artist. The internet as a whole was so influential to me as a kid, it’s huge. Obviously, there are toxic parts of it, but I feel very lucky to have had access to it then and now.

FRB

Left to Right Your turn. 2021 The box. 2019

“IT’S LIKE WHEN YOU LOOK BACK AT YOUR DIARY ENTRIES FROM HIGH SCHOOL AND CRINGE SO HARD YOUR EYES START WATERING.”

Right Page Leopard variety. 2018

I love your brashness in your concepts; your ideas are raw and honest. Have you ever created work that pushed the boundaries too far – from your own perspective?

Nah, not from my own perspective. I know when something’s probably going to get a bit of a negative reaction from certain people, and I’ve definitely had certain people kick up a fuss about a few of my drawings, but that’s just expected when there are lots of people watching. I don’t want to censor myself for the comfort of others, and I would never set out to make a drawing that was offensive for the sake of being offensive – that’s lazy and boring. For the most part, I trust myself and what I put out into the world.

Who is Celeste Mountjoy? The real Celeste Mountjoy.

Perfect body, perfect mind. Completely OK at all times. Gums are in perfect health. A vessel of youth and wellness. Very much not concerned.

You’ve recently applied your artwork to limited edition prints, totes and T-shirts. Money aside, where else do you want your artwork to be seen?

For the most part, my drawings live in A5 sketch books, so it’s always a bit dreamy to go bigger and experiment with scale and different mediums. At the moment I’m working on my first book, which is also very exciting. I’m not used to my stories being long form, so it’s been fun to muck around and see where it takes me.

Do you ever look back on your ideas and change your mind? Or do you standby all your observations?

I do! It’s like when you look back at your diary entries from high school and cringe so hard your eyes start watering. Things are changing all the time. I’ve had to learn not to look back and cringe too hard. You’re always just doing the best you can. It’s a good sign if your old work doesn’t cut it for you anymore, it means you’re growing.

“It’s not peer pressure. It’s peer encouragement.” You wrote these words in 2017 and it has dawned on me that you’re a bit of writer. Is that your original creative outlet?

I could draw before I could write, so when I was little my mum used to go through my sketchbooks with me and I’d tell her what I wanted the characters to be saying. I’m still doing the same 15 years later but I no longer need mum’s help – thanks mum.

What’s next? Where is Filthyratbag in five years from now?

My doctor said at the rate my gums are receding I won’t have any teeth left by 30, so I assume I’ll probably be on a liquid diet. Other than that, I’m looking forward to being able to travel again, I feel like there’s so much I want to see and explore, and being able to travel with art is a huge joy. I’m also excited to see my book go out into the world!