ANTONIA PERRICONE

Music by Alternate Endings and Marie.

ANTONIA PERRICONE

PAINTER

Sydney, NSW

I was having a very bad day when I met Antonia Perricone Mrljak for the first time. And she did too. My job was to create a film representing her work, in her studio-garage. Antonia was exhausted that day; she had broken her foot… During the interview I made her cry… Read More

A few photos…

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It was absolutely disastrous… The light in Antonia’s studio-in-between-studios, her garage, was flickering, it was orange and made everything look like a horror film. I was very anxious, I hadn’t gone to film school yet and didn’t have the tools nor the self confidence to make it work. While Antonia was trying to “roll” around her studio, her foot placed on one of those foot rests with wheels, I was breathing heavily, trying to hide that my back was killing me. A few days later I ended up in hospital and stopped working for a month, lying down and depressed. Antonia ended up making drastic health decisions, lost many kilos and changed her lifestyle entirely.

I decided to call her after the shoot to apologies for a terrible day and we decided to re-do it. Start from scratch. We haven’t stopped working together since! Film school workload permitting, I’ve been following Antonia in all her adventures and it’s been a wild and fun ride! I learned a lot from that dark day in the garage and gained a solid friend. I’d follow her anywhere…

Today I’d like to show you a little film Antonia and I have created together. The idea was to stay with her from the moment she steps in front of a canvas until the work is done. We cut through it a bit, so that the viewers could see her process in minutes instead of the hours it took. The scene takes place in a gorgeous art space called 93 Bourke in Sydney.

This article is part of my recent project to publish 30 posts about beauty which is turning into 30 interviews of people who make the world more beautiful. Antonia’s generosity, her spectacular art, her bubbly personality (her crazy outfits like the diamanti lobster hat she wore at her friend Tracey Moffatt’s ball) definitely make the world a much better place to sway in.

Connect with Antonia

@antonia.perricone | antoniamrljakart.com

INTERVIEW

The name Perricone is of Italian origin diminutive form of the name "Pietro." Which is actually my Nonno’s name "Pietro" is the Italian equivalent of the name Peter, which means "rock”.
I was born in western Sydney I now live in Concord. Both. It is bizarre that at opposite ends of my life I am in a similar suburb that is Eurocentric.
We speak English and Italian
I am abstract artist, unlike traditional forms of art that aim to represent objects or scenes, abstract art focuses on expressing emotions, ideas, and concepts through non-representational forms, colours, lines, and textures.
Oh, definitely watching Marina Abramović in her performances.
I actually wanted to be a teacher, I kind of am actually in different way.
Buy a brand-new car, I am not a materialistic person and when I did arrive at a point where I could afford the luxury and indulged, it was such a letdown tbh. I sold it shortly afterwards. I think every waking moment is somewhat extravagant, I think I am lucky.
Of course paint, and reading in the bath, I am unbelievably great at procrastinating, so losing place and time is super easy for me, I have lots of sports in that arena.
Making a large-scale artwork at Sydney contemporary as performative piece over a 5-day period and going to university to understand my process, education, and guts as a combo.
Knowing I can’t to everything because I think I can do everything.
Empathy, it is everything about everyone.
Being compassionate, giving back and minding your own business.
I think my jewellery is special, I love wearing my pieces and they remind me of people I love.
I have a painting by my grandmother of the remains of a farm house that she used to live in before it burnt down. I look at it and imagine what her life was like in that house, raising four kids mostly on her own. I wonder what she was thinking about when she painted it. It's my connection to her.
Anything pasta.
The Monocle Book of ITALY.
At the moment European films. I watch lots of different things, I get obsessed with films that have good scenic cinematography, architecture, and fashion in them. French films are especially good for that, it’s always so dramatic. I love it.
So many but we did go and see Stop Making Sense Talking Heads, I love rawness in older films, the honesty in less technology and nostalgia.
The sound of the sea, the real sea, it’s beautiful.
Louise Bourgeois - genius.
Too many to pick all the artists that make art - I love them all, but tonight I met one especially good, a young man that is a graffiti artist, I was blown away by his work. I asked him if he would show it publicly, he said “never” he would never sell his work it’s for everyone to see, he has a job, art is not for selling it’s for pleasure.
Sicily.
I am working on a series that will go overseas next year and it is exciting!
Ahh of course, hit me up. I am always ready for new ideas.