Local artist profile: Sally Poltrock

THIS week we chat with artist and fashion designer Sally Poltrock.

What initially motivated you to become an artist?

I have been creating art since I can remember. It has always been a natural drive to explore the potential of mediums and textures. I had wonderful freedoms as a kid, humbly growing up on the land. It teaches you to be resourceful and use whatever you can to your advantage. Making something out of nothing is extremely rewarding when you’ve authentically created it. Art is very much a meditative ritual whilst being able to communicate with an audience in a visual way. The sensory outcome is very much an important component.

How do you describe your style and how did you develop it?

My contemporary arts practice is process driven with a lot of experimentation. I often use obstacles and vulnerability as a form of departure. I enjoy exploring the positive and negative space and often think about what cannot be seen and how I best let my medium make the strongest sensory impact. I work a lot with sculptural installation having a background in the fashion industry designing and patternmaking, fusing these sculpting skills back into two-dimensional works.

Are there any particular themes you like to feature in your artwork?

Themes that I work with are movement, ritual and bodily form, often representation of the spine. A quote I once read was, “Nothing meaningful in life ever happens without the ability to be vulnerable”.

I was diagnosed with a chronic disease called Ankylosing Spondylitis roughly four years ago, an immune disorder which is sometimes referred to as tin man disease. It affects the spine and can affect other parts of the body as well. Reflecting within abstraction on ancestry and genetics, I often use rust in my work to represent the lack of flexibility, and I use this obstacle as a positive, always informing my practice. It is a meditative ritual healing; fully being conscious in that moment of movement.

What are some highlights you have had from your career so far?

I have had a wonderfully fortunate creative life and had the pleasure of learning my craft through some very talented individuals. Taking heed of treasured advice in my early career from fashion designers in the 90s Sally Brown, Teena Varigos, Jenny Bannister. It was certainly rewarding early in my career to be working on Chapel Street at Veronica Lodge in South Yarra and we would have celebrities come in to purchase our designs the likes of Kylie Minogue and Madonna.

Highlights now though are working with other artists and seeing how much energy they get through being creative.

How has your art practice been affected by COVID?

Through the pandemic I completed my undergraduate in visual arts at La Trobe University and concentrated on reinventing how I put to work all the skills I’ve attained and would love to share.

How can people check out your work and purchase it?

I have a website, sallypoltrock.com. Optionally, contact me on email: [email protected].

What would you say to regional inspiring artists?

Find your tribe, it’s truly aspiring to practice with peers that challenge you. Be truly authentic to who you are, be brave enough to be vulnerable and know that you must fail to succeed. All the learning is in the failing. This in turn is your strength.