Amplify meets WaterBear

In the week leading up to our Amplify: Forever West event, we’ll be getting to know the artists and small business owners that will be joining us on Sunday.

Meet WaterBear

Photo by Dylan Marriott @video.loss

Tell us about yourself?

I’m not sure what to say about myself, in terms of WaterBear; I’ve always made random things and I like to make and use whatever method I can to create what I want to. I don’t like to limit myself to any medium, but at the moment sewing is my main interest.

Describe your style and what inspires your art form?

I think the main thing that I am inspired by or what my style is based on is how to characterize myself the most. I like to think of ideal fake people and potential characters that can exist and then how I can create them or help create them in reality. I don’t really think of my hats as fashion or clothing items even if they are, I rather think of them more as objects or items that can be added to a collection or added to some kind of ownership.

Hats feel like the most cartoonish or fake accessory I can make that makes anyone wear them feel more like a character than a person and I like how we have the ability to change perception in that way.

What motivates you to create?

I’m not sure what motivates me the most, once I have an idea or object I’d like to make I put my energy towards finding the best method to achieve that, not really being motivated by anything in particular beyond being able to see in person what I’ve internally visualized.

What’s next for WaterBear?

I’d like to keep making hats and branch out into different designs but also into collectible, one-off type items like figurines or photo books. Being able to use lots of different mediums and create lots of different things freely is where I would like to direct WaterBear to.

Photo by Monet Jones

You can shop WaterBear this Sunday at Amplify: Forever West.

Settle in at the Bluestone Church Arts Space for an afternoon of live music, literary performances and art by emerging artists from the Western suburbs and beyond, guest-curated by Rude Baby Records.

Sunday, June 19 ♡ 4:00pm - 6:00pm

⛪️ Bluestone Church Arts Space - 8A Hyde Street, Footscray 3011

More info + tickets here