Illustrator Kristy Milliken

Originally from Sydney, Melbourne based Illustrator Kristy Milliken has had her work published in Arkitip, Curvy, Faesthetic, Voiceworks Magazine, Mess+Noise and now Australian Edge.
Warning: Some images are explicit.

What have you been up to lately?
Mostly trying to stay warm in yet another freezing Melbourne winter, making long mixtapes on itunes so i don’t get too distracted from drawing by flipping vinyl and flicking through daggy records. I’m also knee-deep in rental listings, looking for a house with a big 70s garage so i can whip out my oils again, I’ve limited myself to inks and paper this year due to my ever decreasing studio space thanks to my always increasing mess.

How did you develop your style?
I try and keep an honest link between my work and how I’m conducting myself. The themes of excess, greed, sex and media conditioning are more or less the same and have been for the last few years, but I look at my work from a few years ago and it looks eager to please, there is more confidence in it now.
I spend all my time on my art now, prior to being a lady of artistic leisure i was working as a photographer in the sex industry. Having people tell me I’m betraying my sex and objectifying women has made me very aware of what seems to scare people, i want to challenge that, there are things out there people could be way more concerned about. It’s really these ideas and opinions that have advanced my work to the stage it is now, and continue to develop it.

Where do you find inspiration?
My current work is about excess, having so much yet dedicating your life to getting so much more. Modern society is very inspiring to me, there are so many aspects that are ripe for the picking, somewhere along the way bad taste and mediocracy are now celebrated with excess. The fat lady pictures are a direct response to this, they know no limits of consumption.
Other random things include: traveling, being alone, sex, wearing fur, the homeless, stereotypes, manners, the obese, attractive people, genuine people, the news, reality TV, celebrity, strip clubs, old & new money, greed. My head swims with ideas in the dark claustrophobic moments of savasana at yoga.

Do you have a favourite artist, or artists?
I have lots of favorites, there are so many people out there doing amazing stuff at the moment. Anthony Lister is doing some really beautiful new work, he’s a great local inspiration for me. Marcel Dzama has been a long time fave, his work has a genuine quality that i strive for in my own. Mel Kadel’s work is really interesting and exciting.  Other people I’m digging are Kill Pixie, Ryan McGinley, We Buy Your Kids, Jackson Slattery, Misaki Kawai, Tomokazu Matsuyama.

Links:
kristymilliken.com