My Life So Far - Linde Ivimey

The Age

Tuesday October 2, 2007

Liz Cincotta

Melbourne sculptor Linde Ivimey, 42, spends her days creating faceless figures using bones, teeth, fibres and gems.

Why a fascination with bones?

I've always liked them and I've always thought they're really attractive. I think it comes from being the last in a line of four kids, and by the time the Sunday roast wishbone came around to me, or the knuckle from the lamb roast, it was a really special treat.

When did you start to experiment artistically with them?

I collected them for years as a child, mostly from family food. I always had a line of little bones or knuckles on the windowsill.

What was your childhood like?

My mum would have a box of things that I could make things with. She didn't mind if I pulled my toys apart. I was always making things, and I was always encouraged to do so. I remember I had done a drawing of my grandmother, an angel, behind the door in the lounge room. One of the biggest fights that went on in our family was mum wanting to paint around it to keep the picture. I grew up in Greenwich in Sydney. Family life was pretty dysfunctional. I was a runaway at 14. At 16 I went on to study graphic design, so that tidied it all up.

What other jobs did you have?

The graphic design work led me to a job in a cake shop in Sydney called Sweethearts. They made sculptured cakes. I was doing a lot of their corporate work because I could deal with logos and colour. All the other artists who worked there were trained in fine art as opposed to commercial art. It was fantastic. I landed in three dimensions and found myself.

Some people compare your work to voodoo dolls. Are you religious?

I've got faith and I do believe in a greater power. I do believe absolutely in nature. I can understand the references to fetish because the sculptures are fetishistic in that so much is invested in them through what I believe is the power of the medium and the materials. Bone is a very strong symbolic thing.

Is your studio your haven?

It's absolutely my haven. I live in a warehouse. A small section of it is where I live and another larger section is where I work. It's dedicated to loads of sculpture, storage and paintings. I have no windows so there's no distraction. It's incredibly peaceful, private and full of sculpture, bone and collections of earth and fibre.

People say it's like a cabinet of curiosities.

How did you meet your husband (fellow sculptor Bruce Armstrong)?

I met him at an exhibition of his about 12 years ago. I was living interstate at the time so we took a long time to become friends. We wrote letters and sent drawings to each other. Our wedding day was amazing. It was Christmas Day eight years ago and it was 40 degrees during the day, then suddenly at 5 o'clock, a thunderstorm came. A celebrant came to the studio and the wedding was at exactly 5 o'clock when the thunder hit. It was very dramatic.

What is one of the most adventurous things you've done?

I've run away a few times in my life. When I was 21 I ran away to Africa. I trekked in the Congo to find the silverback gorillas. That was an adventure. Just last year I finally convinced Bruce to come with me and we went back to Africa. We trekked in to see the chimpanzees, and that was physically the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. -- LIZ CINCOTTA

LINKS

? www.gouldgalleries.com.au

? www.martinbrownefineart.com