First show for cardboard creative

AFTER decades working in more conventional areas of visual and performing arts, a local artist is shifting his focus towards an everyday item.

Patrick Duffy is set to make his debut as a cardboard artist next month with his Out of the Box exhibition to take place at the Old Butchers Shop Gallery throughout May.

With 22 pieces on display, he said the name of the show reflects the innovation required in working with an unusual material.

“People told me constantly to think outside the box, and I thought no, what can I make out of the box,” he said. “In doing so, it’s kind of still thinking outside the box.

“The title’s a double-edged sword in a way that I’m making things out of a box and my work is a little bit different to what’s being produced around Ballarat. It’s something Ballarat hasn’t really seen.

“I was a professional actor so I have a very strong aspect of theatricality and storytelling and I’ve always been involved in visual arts.”

Having worked as a performing artist with improv companies in New Zealand and Melbourne for more than three decades, Duffy shifted focus to visual arts in response to COVID lockdowns.

His pieces range from conventional items like sneakers and a steerable Vespa to more abstract works like a winged skull and suited animals.

Duffy has been working Out of the Box since September, limiting himself to only creating with cardboard material to convey texture and colour.

With a childhood interest in origami and experience crafting sets, costumes and props throughout his performing years, Duffy said his inclination for cardboard creation was a lightbulb moment for him.

“I’ve explored so many different mediums over the years and when I started on cardboard it worked with me,” he said.

“With COVID, I turned to the materials I had on hand and I’d always been interested in the sustainability of art.

“Everybody uses cardboard every day and it’s a utilitarian material that gets thrown out a lot of the time. This show highlights its versatility.

“Fine art doesn’t have to be fine material. Just because it’s marble, that doesn’t make it any better as a piece of art unless the hands of the artist have crafted it well.”

Duffy is encouraging attendees to wear any sort of cardboard-crafted item to the Out of the Box launch on Saturday, 6 May after which the exhibition will run until Sunday, 28 May.