Curriculum Vitae

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Biography

John Waller is an Australian artist working predominately in digital media. His current practice focuses on the production of video and sound for screen, projection, and installation projects.

John's art career began in the early 1980s, following studies at the Queensland College of Art, Brisbane, where he majored in painting. By the mid eighties his practice had moved to include photocopy and installation works. By the early nineties, his practice was primarily focussed on computer based multimedia works and installations. In 2008 he completed a PhD by project in the School of Art at RMIT, Melbourne, developing entity, an artificial life inspired interactive computer animation.

Over the last four decades John has exhibited in some one-hundred group and solo exhibitions, both in Australia and internationally. These include exhibitions at The Queensland Art Gallery, the Institute of Modern Art, the University of Queensland Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and QCA Gallery, Brisbane; The Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney; Experimenta Media Arts Festival, Melbourne; the Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin; and Camera Work Gallery, London.

He has also shown extensively in Artist Run Initiatives and alternative spaces, including THAT Contemporary Art Space, Arch Lane, Gallerie Brutal, and John Mills National in Brisbane; Grey Area, Stop 22, Seventh, and The Library Artspace, J‑Studios, Melbourne; and the Darwin Visual Arts Association and Tactile Arts, Darwin. Animation works have also been included in the Second International Symposium on Electronic Art (SISEA) in Gröningen, The Netherlands, and in Media Wave '93, a video festival in Gyor, Hungary.

In support of his work he has received grants and funding from government agencies including the Digital Media Fund (Film Victoria), Arts Queensland, the Australian Film Commission, and the Australia Council.

In addition to his PhD, John’s other qualifications include an Advanced Diploma in Electronic Design and Interactive Media (RMIT), and certificates in Training and Instructional Skills. He also has extensive teaching experience in universities and other training institutions, including Charles Darwin University, Darwin; the University of Melbourne, RMIT, Swinburne University, Box Hill Institute, and Cambridge International College, Melbourne; and Mount Gravatt College of TAFE, Brisbane.

Chronology

Education

2000 - 08      PhD by Project, part-time, School of Art, RMIT, Melbourne

2007             Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, MBG Education, Melbourne

2004             Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace Training, Australian Institute of Education and Training, Melbourne

1999             Bachelor of Computer Science (First Year), Latrobe University, Melbourne

1995 - 96      Advanced Diploma, Electronic Design and Interactive Media, RMIT, Melbourne

1993             Certificate in Instructional Skills, South Brisbane TAFE

1989             Experimental Music (Audit only), University of Queensland, Brisbane

1985             Semester workshop in Super 8 Film, Queensland College of Art, Brisbane

                     Experimental Music (Audit only), University of Queensland, Brisbane

1983             Video workshops, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane

1978 - 79      Queensland College of Art, Brisbane (Painting Major)

Individual Exhibitions

2012             The River, The Night Screen, Seventh Gallery, Melbourne

2011             Propeller, The Night Screen, Seventh, Melbourne

2007             entity, School of Art Gallery, RMIT, Melbourne

2006             For one night only, Gossard project space, RMIT, Melbourne

1994             burning…, Bartleme Galleries, Brisbane

                     Untitled video installation, McWhirters shop front window, Valley Mall, Brisbane

1992             Recent Drawings, Savode Gallery, Brisbane.

1991             K/nights in Shining Amour - Part II (The Maiden's Revenge), Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, collaboration with David Crouch, Jacqueline Eyers, and Adam Wolter

1990             K/nights in Shining Amour, Galerie Brutal, Brisbane, collaboration with David Crouch, Jacqueline Eyers, and Tony Moore

1989             The Great Australian Landscape:
Part I, MINI MOCA, Museum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane
Part II, arch lane Annex, arch lane PUBLIC ART, Brisbane
Part III, arch lane PUBLIC ART, Brisbane

1985             Something Fishy (A Little Cat Nap), installation in La Boite Theatre Foyer, Brisbane, collaboration with Adam Wolter

                     Gallery of the Dyslexic Frog, gallery/installation/performance/community art project, Public Service workplace, Brisbane, collaboration with Tony Moore

1983             Sunday Afternoon at the Gallery, Friday Night in the Mall, Sunday Afternoon in the Gardens, series of public performances, Brisbane

1981             Brisbane Community Arts Centre Gallery, Brisbane

Group Exhibitions

2022             Circadian Visions, Ngudooroo (Lamb Island), Queensland

2019             CCP Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne

                     Refugia, Nan Giese and Northern Editions galleries, Charles Darwin University, Darwin

                     Fluidity, Darwin Visual Arts, Darwin

2018             CCP Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne

                     Untitled, Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin

                     ArtMart 2018, Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin

                     Changes: forty years of art practice, POP Gallery, Queensland College of Art, Brisbane

2017             Cat with the Hat, Monitor, Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin

                     ArtMart, Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin

                     Hatched, Darwin Visual Arts Association, Darwin

                     CCP Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne

2016             ephemeral traces: Brisbane's artist-run scene in the 1980s, University of Queensland Art Museum, Brisbane

                     An Awful Lot of Coffee, Darwin Visual Arts Association, Darwin

                     Junk to Funk, Darwin Visual Arts Association, Darwin

                     Peer Review, Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin

                     Constellations, Tactile Arts, Darwin

                     CCP Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne

2015             Milestone, Northern Centre for Contemporary Art, Darwin

                     CCP Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne

                     Through the Keyhole, Darwin Visual Arts Association, Darwin

                     12 x 12, Darwin Visual Arts Association, Darwin

2014             Electricity, Darwin Visual Arts Association, Darwin

                     Warp Festival, Darwin Fringe, Happy Yess, Darwin

2012             Visible Horizon, AIRY and Fusetsu Galleries, Yamanashi, Japan

                                                 The Library Artspace, J-Studios, Melbourne

2011             Experimental Sounds Sculptures and Installations, The Library Artspace, J‑Studios, Melbourne

2010             Plus One 2010, The Library Artspace, J-Studios, Melbourne, collaboration with Natalie Grant

2009             Gulag, Counihan Gallery in Brunswick, Melbourne

                     Gertrude Street Projection Festival, Melbourne

2008             International Students' Exhibition, Shanghai Biennale 2008 (exhibition of Phd materials)

                     Plus One, The Library Artspace, J-Studios, Melbourne, collaboration with Mary Peacock

2006             Siemens–RMIT Fine Art Scholarship Awards, RMIT Gallery, Melbourne

2003             Modelling Space, Project Space, RMIT, Melbourne

1998             White Elephant Sale, Grey Area, Melbourne

1997             Roof Roof: an evening of dance, movement, machine and images, the roof of KC Parksafe, Victoria St, Melbourne

                     QWERTY: approaches to a digital aesthetic, Linden Gallery, Melbourne

1996             short, sharp, and very current, Experimenta Media Arts Festival, Lonsdale Street Power Station, Melbourne

                     Graduate Exhibition, Electronic Design and Interactive Media, Project Space, Building 94, RMIT, Melbourne

                     CyberFringe/C.A.T. Digital Imaging Awards, Stop 22, Melbourne

1995             Beta Test, New Media Network, Melbourne

                     Digital Shifts, Noosa Regional Gallery, Queensland

                     C.A.T. Digital Imaging Awards, Waverley City Gallery, Melbourne

1993             Media Wave 93, Gyor, Hungary

                     Fearless, Artestudio, Bergamo, Italy; Forum "Kunst und Schule", Gutersloh, Germany

                     Southern Crossings/Empty Land, Angel Row Gallery, Nottingham, England; Zone Gallery, Newcastle, England; Focal Point Gallery, Southend-on-Sea, England

                     Post, Coode View Gallery, Melbourne

                     Vitae, RMIT Faculty Gallery, Melbourne

1992             Southern Crossings/Empty Land, Stills Gallery, Edinburgh

                     Empty Land, Camerawork Gallery, London

                     Reference Points: A New Perspective, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane

                     Fact, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane; Linden Gallery, Melbourne

                     Box Play, Savode Gallery, Brisbane, collaboration with other gallery artists

1991             Instant Imaging, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane

                     Against Pure War, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane

1990             SISEA (Second International Symposium on Electronic Art), Gröningen, Holland

                     Scanning the Code, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney

                     Above the Apothecary, belowZERO, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane

                     Space 90, Queensland College of Art Gallery, Brisbane

                     International Visual Poetry Exhibition, Victorian Writers' Centre, Melbourne; Western Australian Writers' Centre, Perth

                     RSVWWZ, Ausgraph 90, Melbourne; belowZERO, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane

                     Video Art and New Technology Festival, Film and Television Institute, Fremantle

                     Queensland Images - A Film Festival - Library Program, Queensland State Library, Brisbane

                     The Bigger Than Ben Hur Art Prices Auction, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane

                     Condemned Commodity Circus, Galerie Brutal, Brisbane

                     Actions Speak Louder Than Words, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane

                     Strangers in Paradise - Premonition, Hole in the Wall, Galerie Brutal, Brisbane

                     Ze Bruck Zenze, Rondeau, Sydney

                     The Inaugural Arch Lane Drawing Prize, arch lane PUBLIC ART, Brisbane

                     Word Fest, Visual Poetics, Queensland Cultural Centre, Brisbane

1989             Visual Poetics, Museum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane

                     Random Access, Museum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane

                     Works on Paper, arch lane PUBLIC ART, Brisbane

                     Open studio exhibition, BAF Studio, Brisbane

                     The Truth, arch lane PUBLIC ART, Brisbane

1988             Axis File, Sites of Dis-Closure, 2B/The Garage, New York City, U.S.A.; arch lane PUBLIC ART, Brisbane.

                     Mass Exodus - The Eviction Art Show, 315 Given Tce, Paddington, Brisbane

1987             John Mills Annex, John Mills National, Brisbane

1986             State of the Art/Art of the State, photocopy exhibition, Old Darnell Gallery, University of Queensland, Brisbane

1985             Brisbane Hot, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane

                     This Work Was, THAT Contemporary Art Space, Brisbane

                     This is THAT, Gladstone Art Gallery, Gladstone

                     Opening exhibition, THAT Contemporary Art Space, Brisbane

1984             Art-Space/Street-Space, Art Space annex, Mark Foys Dept Store window Sydney, collaboration with Ruth Propsting

1983             Brisbane Community Arts Centre, Brisbane

Grants and Awards

2016             ACMI Best Video award, CCP Salon, Centre for Contemporary Photography, Melbourne

2010             ArtStart, Australia Council, funds to develop business, marketing, and networking tools for a new media art practice

2002             Digital Media Fund, Film Victoria, funds to develop entity, an artificial life inspired, interactive, computer animated character

1992             Individual Professional Development Program, Arts Division, Queensland State Government, funds to attend the Third International Symposium on Electronic Art, Sydney

1989             New Image Research program, the Australian Film Commission and the Queensland Film Development Office, funds to develop a computer generated animation

Public Collections

Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia

The University of Queensland Art Collection, Brisbane, Australia

Professional Positions and Responsibilities

2014 - 16      Management Committee member and Treasurer, Darwin Visual Arts Association, Darwin

2010             External Consultant for a PhD by project, School of Media and Communication, RMIT

                     External PhD examiner, School of Visual & Performing Arts, University of Tasmania

2009 - 12      J-Studios management committee, Melbourne

1989             Curator, Random Access exhibition, Museum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane

1985             Co-founder, Treasurer, and Joint Co-ordinator, THAT Contemporary Art Space, Brisbane

1983 - 85      Founding member and (1984-5) Treasurer, Art Workers Union, Qld  (which became the Queensland Artworkers Alliance in 1986)

Related Employment

2013 – 15     Charles Darwin University, Darwin, lecturer in Interactive Digital Media

2012             Swinburne University TAFE, Melbourne, sessional teacher, Graphic Design & Digital Media

1999 - 2011  Cambridge International College, Melbourne, sessional teacher in Multimedia

2003 - 05      The University of Melbourne, sessional lecturer, Interactive Multimedia, School of Creative Arts, Faculty of Arts

2003             Monash College, sessional teacher, Digital Imaging, Diploma of Art and Design Studies

1997 - 2002  RMIT, sessional lecturer Computer Graphics and Multimedia, School of Art and Culture, Faculty of Art Design and Communication

1998             Box Hill Institute, sessional teacher, Design for Interactive Media

1997 - 98      Freelance multimedia designer/programmer - Grey Interactive, WAM

1997             Tantamount Productions, Multimedia Assistant

                     Freelance animation for Pulse, dance-performance project, Melbourne

1996             Freelance animation for Pacific Magazines and Printing Annual Report

1995             Magian Multimedia, scanning, digital photo-retouching, and digital imaging

1993 - 94      Mount Gravatt College of TAFE, teacher and subject co-ordinator, Computer Graphics, Certificate in Arts, Brisbane

Bibliography

Howie, T., “Strange take on art peer”, NT News, Thursday, November 24, 2016

Johnson, F., “Out of the gulag”, The Age, Friday, April 17, 2009

Zurbrugg, N., “John Waller Interviewed by Nicholas Zurbrugg”, Electronic Arts in Australia, Continuum, Vol. 8, No. 1, 1994

Lillington, D., "Southern Crossings/Empty Land", Time Out, London, August 5-12, 1992

Zurbrugg, N., "Instant Imaging", Eyeline, No.16, Spring 1991, p 32

Richards, M., "Photocopies more of the same", The Courier Mail, Tuesday, May 21, 1991

Zurbrugg, N., "Random Access", Eyeline, No.11, Autumn 1990, p 27

Woolcock, P., "Charlotte Street arrives as an art centre", The Courier Mail, June, 1985

 

Catalogue,  Gulag Studios 1994 – 2009, Sheridan Palmer, Gulag Publishing, 2009

Catalogue,  RMIT University School of Art Postgraduate Art Research by Project, catalogue for International Students' Exhibition, Shanghai Biennale 2008

Catalogue,  Southern Crossings/Empty Land, Camerawork, London, 1992, pp. 11, 67-68

Catalogue,  Instant Imaging, Queensland Art Gallery, 1991, pp. 6, 8-9

Catalogue,  Pat Hoffie/Sue Baker, Anna Gibbs/R.S.V.W.W.Z., Institute of Modern Art, 1990

Catalogue,  Visual Poetics, Museum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, 1989, p. 55

Catalogue,  Random Access, Museum of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, 1989