A Conversation Between SARAH DINH AND KATTY HAN

For this article we thought it could be interesting to get two rising stars of the Meanjin art landscape to interview each other; Sarah Dinh and Katty Han. Last year the pair came together to put on their joint art exhibition LACUNA after only having met one another a few months earlier.

With these fast friends keen to pick each other’s brains, we met in the living room of the uber talented and charismatic Katty Han one Saturday morning in December. Admiring the decor and collection of art lining the walls we waited for her friend and fellow burgeoning artist Sarah Dinh as she struggled to find a way over to Kat’s Paddington sharehouse. When Sarah eventually made her way to the destination of the interview, she was greeted by cheers and, between laughs, offered up apologies for her late arrival. After a quick backyard photo shoot the two artists gathered in the sunroom of the house, Katty Han’s art studio, and sat opposite one another. What ensued, between bouts of laughter, was a very honest, thought provoking and insightful look into the minds and practices of two exciting and unique contemporary artists. Sarah Dinh and Katty Han conversed about their respective art practices, the growing Meanjin art scene and their definitions of success as an artist.

- Hamish Wilson

Sarah: Okay I’ll start it off. Is there a specific environment and or material that is integral to your art?

Sarah: Most certainly. I’ve always made art by myself. I’ve never been able to integrate that into an open setting. Painting at A Mid Day Rave was really interesting for me. My art looks rather ‘ugly’ at the start and just comes together at the end surprisingly.

Kat: Oh these are fancy questions. A specific environment? How do you mean?

Sarah: Like say this space in particular. Is this space necessary for you to create art or can you create art anywhere?

Kat: It’s hard to share the process! Because the process is such an eternal battle, like ‘Oh my God I hate this’, but you know what the end goal is in your head. For other people to see that it’s really vulnerable.

Kat: I think yeah, I need to be in my space to create art. I’m better at it that way. Or being outside. I think if I have my things around me and visual references like my picture books, or I’m outside in the sun, that’s important to me.

Sarah: Yeah I agree. I think my art process is also very fucking messy. I love to get down and dirty with my artwork. I think that’s a really important part in my artmaking process.

Sarah: How was your experience at Yonder (Festival) different from your experiences making art here?

Kat: I find that interesting because I think in real life, out of the both of us, you’re more of a perfectionist. You’re usually, usually the one that’s on time (laughing). I feel like you chase me up being like ‘Kat remember to reply to this’, ‘Kat we need to be there in 10’ (laughing).

Kat: My experience at Yonder was fun but live painting is really stressful for me. I found it really tough to paint with people watching. Because it’s really private. Do you find that your creative process is really private?

Sarah: (laughing) Yeah literally. Literally.

What made you start making art for others and not just for yourself?

Kat: That’s a really good question. Actually it was a nudge from someone in Brissy; Luna, a friend of mine. They were having this group art show so I put two A4’s in the show and they both sold in like the first hour. I mean obviously you’re not doing it for monetary gain but when it happens it’s like ‘I made something and someone loves it enough to buy it!.’ When was your first show? When was the first time you shared a piece of art?

Sarah: My first actual painting I probably did like last year (2021). It was this massive 3 metre artwork and they asked to exhibit it in my little high school hall. Then I saw an Instagram ad for Chromatic Walls and they were asking for submissions. They accepted me and I just threw together a bunch of artworks I’d done over the course of that year. I showed up and was the youngest person there and ended up the person that sold the most. I was like ‘what the fuck!’.

Kat: Really? Congratulations! I feel like you’ve done a lot in your art career in such a small space of time.

Sarah: I think that’s really insane because to me personally I don’t think I’m making enough.

Sarah: Yeah for sure! I just got really lucky - I had just turned 18 when Vcame around. I hadn’t even graduated high school yet.

Kat: I don’t think it’s luck that people are buying your stuff. I think you put out constant work. People can see that you love to do this and you’re doing it all the time.

Kat: I think you make so much! I worry that I’m not making enough when I see how much you make.

Sarah: The thing is I hate posting my art digitally. I fucking hate it.

Kat: Is that why you do the zine?

someone or something. My art is very much who I am as a whole. I think maybe that attracts a lot of people to my art.

Sarah: Yeah that’s why I do the zines. That’s why I give them to people physically. My art is not meant to be viewed digitally

That interaction (between an artist and a buyer/consumer) is a big thing to me. I meet random people and I’m like, “Do you want a zine?” I shove my bag into their face, like “take it, take one”. I think that’s a big part of who I am. I kind of like giving myself to

Kat: I think so. I think you put something personal to you in it and you’re like sharing a part of yourself. I feel like I’ve been doing that with using Indonesian art elements. It’s also sharing parts of your culture and being like ‘hey, this is something from my world’. People love it because they’ve never seen it before especially in a Western canon of art.

How has your art practice changed over time?

Kat: I think my art practice has changed so much. I think it was super portrait based. It was all very self reflective. I was always painting myself even if it was a green alien girl with seven hands or whatever.

My art practice used to be a very internalised self reflective thing. I think it was even reflective of the time I was going through where I was a lot more lost. I didn’t really have a good self identity that I was comfortable with.

It’s expanded to being inspired by things around me. A lot of animals, plants, architectural elements and things that are inspired by culture. I think it’s more of being in awe and in wonder of the world around me rather than just being trapped in my head. Which is nice. I think that’s why it’s so joyous now, my paintings.

What is the biggest moment that has happened in your art career this year? Or your most proud art moment?

Sarah: I think LACUNA with you.

Kat: Yeah that’s mine too! We did that!

Sarah: It was insane! The people who showed up that was fucking insane.

Sarah: Most definitely. I think it’s very telling of the times where we are all open to other people’s experiences and wanting to learn from people of colour especially.

Kat: Especially because a lot of the people are younger as well. It gives me a lot of hope for this like new wave of people coming through Brissy.

Kat: I think that was one of the most pivotal moments for me where I was like I want to start doing so much more for the community. Because the community showed up. They gave us so much! Like their energy, their time, their support. There was a lot of love on that day. And I think doing it after meeting only a few months prior, crazy.

Sarah: Yeah, that was going to be one of my questions; it was “how do you feel about the ever growing scene of Meanjin?” welcomed me with open arms. We don’t care about your followers, we don’t care. We only care if you make good art that’s all we fucking care about. We don’t care what you do during the day. If your heart is in it and we can see that we’ll support you.

Sarah: Crazy. And the group that has been created.

Kat: I know. And we’ve all done so much since then. Because we’re carving out a space where people feel comfortable showing up and interacting with this diverse melting pot of cultures.

Kat: I think Meanjin has so much potential, guys! And everyone keeps fucking off to Naarm (laughing). I honestly feel like maybe I’m more appreciative of it as someone that didn’t grow up here. I’ve just come here from Tasmania, from somewhere so small, I haven’t seen that type of community. No it’s not as big as it is in Sydney or Melbourne but everyone knows each other and everyone shows up to things even though it’s not their style or their usual crowd.

I think the scene here is growing so much and has so much more growing to do if we put in the work! And don’t just move away to where there’s already a flourishing scene.

Sarah: Naarm (Melbourne) is overrated!

Kat: There’s so many people you can see are really pushing. Like Echo & Bounce with everything they’re doing, Dylan (Mink), who helped us put on the entire LACUNA event, has been putting in the work to make sure so many creative events are happening. I think we are in the peak era. We are watching something really great happen.

I think that’s a really beautiful part of Meanjin.

Sarah: I lived in Naarm for 6 months and I loved it but there’s just something about Brisbane. As soon as I got back everyone

Kat: Definitely. There’s an authenticity here. There’s people that just love to dance and people that just love to meet people.

Sarah: Do you believe that trauma makes better art?

Kat: No, I don’t. This is an interesting question. I guess you can resonate with art a lot more if there’s all these raw feelings in it but I don’t necessarily think raw emotions have to stem from trauma. I think it’s amazing to have that outlet. So much good art has come from people using it as a way to work through things but I also think art can be such an expression of happiness, joy and wonder.

Sarah: Your artworks, I think because of the colours that you use, they exude happiness. Even though there is a deeper meaning to them I always feel a lot of happiness and joy when I view your artwork.

Do you think those other experiences that have made you happy make you make better art?

Kat: Ooh I think so. Even if I’m going through a really shit time I’ll still make a painting about it but it’ll be a little bit funny.

Sarah: The second painting I ever did was right after I got dumped (laughing). I was like I’m going to make an artwork about it and it’s going to be really cute and fun.

Kat: Yes! Because sometimes it’s just funny to just take a shit situation and be like, ‘the hilarity of life’, it’s so funny that we are all existing and this shit is happening and I’m just making a painting about it (laughing).

Sarah: How do you define success as an artist?

Kat: I know exactly what the definition is not and it’s not monetary gain and followers. It’s never been about getting gallery represented. This is going to come back to bite me in the future but I could not care less about being gallery represented.

I think success for me, as an artist, is just making what I want to make and not feeling insecure about it. Which I’m still working towards. I make things and then I’m like people won’t like this. I think I’ll be truly successful when I’m making things and I love them and I don’t have that voice in my head being like ‘I don’t know if that style is what people want to see’. For me it’s just making something I’m proud of and making honest work!

Another thing I think would be a definition of what success is as an artist is evolution. If in five years my paintings looked exactly the same I wouldn’t be getting anywhere. I’m excited to see it evolve!

Kat: How would you define success?

Sarah: I think my definition of success as an artist would be very similar to yours. Not really caring about what anyone else thinks about your own art. Just making art for the purpose of making art and expressing yourself.

Definitely not money-wise. I don’t particularly care for it. I think us throwing our little show (LACUNA) was success. For me in particular, I think it was just a huge eye-opener that people are actually supporting me.

I think growing up as a person of colour, success was very much academic-wise. During the last two years where I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do after school I had ingrained in myself that art was not an option to take. I graduated, took a year off and then all of this (art) shit just popped up out of nowhere. Not being able to verbalise that to my parents… I think success would be my parents understanding that this is what I want to do.