Concrete Playground

Artist Profile: Greedy Hen

To see the work of art-making duo Greedy Hen (Katherine Brickman and Kate Mitchell) is to secretly wish to be as clever as them. Or at least to be able to make the colour brown look as good as it does in their art.

How did you meet?

Through a Chinese fortune-teller

Kate, what was your first impression of Katherine?

Her amazing locks.

Katherine, what was the first thing you noticed about Kate?

Back then I was painfully shy, so the first thing I noticed about Kate was her bright red shoes.

How did Greedy Hen come about?

The birth of Greedy Hen was not dissimilar to Monkey Magic from an egg on a mountaintop.

What about the name?

Like most important historic events, the name originated from drunken banter in a pub somewhere in Sydney many years ago.

How would you describe your aesthetic?

Imagery that articulates a playful black humour: unwritten fables or subtle, off-kilter, sinister elements lurking amongst a kinder-esqe beauty. Kate has feelings about the "vibe" of how things should look, whereas Katherine has very strong, definite ideas about the direction of an image or project. Katherine has the completed artwork in her head before she begins making it, whereas Kate begins things on the basis of knowing the mood she wants to capture in the work. Somehow we meet in the middle and it just works out perfectly.

Do you ever find it difficult to work individually?

Nope.  Outside of Greedy Hen, Kate has a video art practice that usually involves some sort of physical feat, slapstick mayhem or just flat-out conceptual challenge.  Katherine keeps the majority of her brain and output under the Greedy Hen umbrella, but occasionally will draw retardo, low-brow, scribbly, anti-art drawings.

Is there any sort of project you'd like to work on but haven't had the chance yet?

To be a duo challenger on 'It's a Knock Out'.

By Millie Stein