Ivor Fabok’s paintings, sculptures, and mixed-media works envelop his life, but his broader interests in music, literature and even politics feature in his thoughts and in his art practice.
“I always felt at ease when drawing, and even as a child it seemed to offer me a sense of peace,” Ivor says. “It satisfied a need within me, a way to make sense of things.”
After living overseas for several years, and witnessing first-hand cultures in which art was integrated into daily life through dance, music, painting and sculpture, Ivor made the logical step to attend art school when he returned to Australia.
“In this environment there was an enormous diversity of thought and practice offering many potential pathways for artistic expression and you soon found out that if you wanted to do something in the arts seriously you needed a great deal of self-discipline.”
After art school Ivor spent many years ‘unlearning’, reinterpreting, and seeking his own voice because, as jazz great Miles Davis said: “It takes a long time to sound like yourself.”
Disciplines such as music and literature informed Ivor’s perspectives and approach to 3D and 2D work.
“Listening to experimental sound work, classical music and in particular modern avant-garde jazz has always been a great inspiration in terms of visual expression through its lyricism and ability to suggest varying structures to improvise on.”
Thirroul and its surrounds now feature strongly in Ivor’s imagination and his art work.
“For example, my recent paintings gravitate compositionally and poetically around the notion of the horizon, the ‘Offing” where the sky meets the sea. After exploring this and similar themes in earlier sculpture shows, I have since 2012 been exhibiting painting as I feel it’s a more suitable vehicle for these ideas.
“When painting it’s an intuitive process, you build, destroy and recompose constantly, there’s definitely a rhythm established that’s similar to what musicians refer to when improvising as being in the ‘zone’. I like to work on a number of artworks simultaneously, as variations on a theme and having a studio at home helps keep this process fluid.
“I’ve had a long-term productive relationship with the Defiance Gallery in Mary Place in Paddington who have offered great support over decades and who provide the means of presenting my work, allowing interaction and dialogue with fellow artists, collectors and the general public.”
Viewers’ opinions can offer fresh interpretations of the work on show, Ivor believes.
“Your work is personal, yes, but still open to interpretation by others whose views are welcomed … you need to approach someone’s work with an open heart as the ability to look at works doesn’t necessarily guarantee an ability to see art properly.
“An artist’s work should, at the end of a life of creativity, be viewed as an entirety with structures, patterns and composition, themes a part of the quest of asking, rather than providing absolute answers.”
Ivor Fabok exhibits at the Defiance Gallery, 12 Mary Place, Paddington.
Writer Janice Creenaune is a volunteer for PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) Foundation Australia. Email janicecreenaune@gmail.com
