Shot by Connor Sprague
ARI KWASNER-CATSI / ARTIST
With talent and ambition, Ari Kwasner-Catsi (he/him) is an artist because he loves it - and boy is he good at it. In a world that can be stacked to the brim with egocentric creatives, Ari is a genuine breath of fresh air.
Interview with Ava Lacoon-Robinson
So, your Instagram bio reads “I make things”, can you tell us more about who Ari is?
“I make things” is probably the most apt description. I started doing drama as a kid and then started directing because I was like, “I can’t be bothered to wait for anyone to tell me what to do and I’m not really good with people telling me what to do”. So I just started directing, making films and then dabbled in other art forms - installations, events, photography. I always find it hard because you are meant to have one thing, “oh I’m a *this*”, but I kinda just want to do it all. Recently, I prefer the word Artist to Filmmaker, because Artist means whatever I produce is still a part of that package.
What do you hope to create when you embark on a project?
Realism has never been interesting to me. I aim to create something experiential, whatever that means for the medium. I ask myself, “Okay, how can we pull you out of what you are currently experiencing and drop you off somewhere else?”. I’m always drawn to artists who can take you out of your everyday and place you in their world.
Tell me about Antic, the art collective you started with your high school best friends.
Antic is a collective with four of my friends - Milly Alcock, Eric Zac Perry, Jack Voegt and Noah Regan Roach. Basically, the idea was that the sum of our works is stronger than the individual path. We wanted to do events and when Noah moved into a warehouse, Fusion I was born. The whole idea of that event has always been an immersive experience that incorporates every artform equally without competition. It’s not “music +...”, it’s a night where all the art forms are equally present. Because we love film, a big focus is mise-en-scène; it’s always been about the design and atmosphere for us.
Shot by Connor Sprague
A big thing in this influencer/ creative space right now is this idea of the personal brand. How do you feel about personal brands, and do you believe in them?
For a long while I was so worried about the appearance of things on a larger scale. I kept thinking is that “me”? Well you just came up with the fucking idea so it is “you”! You think you might not have a personal brand but if someone else looked at that mass of work and ideas you produce, they would think it is really specific... and it’s so easy to think Instagram is the whole creative thing but it’s not, it’s just a microcosm of it.
Working on projects for big names like Benee, do you ever struggle with imposter syndrome?
Funnily enough with that one, because I, again, had an external person saying, “I trust you, you got this”, I felt more comfortable. Byron Spencer has become a great friend and honestly someone who trusts me and my creativity more than I do. I think that I switched off that part of my brain because I told myself, “I’m just making a video for Byron”, so in that case no. But also, I feel like I haven’t imposter-ed enough to have imposter syndrome yet.
Many people go to Naarm (Melbourne) to follow creative careers, why have you stayed in Eora (Sydney)?
I think it’s stupid when people say there is no good work in Sydney, it’s just maybe not the work or the scene you want. There is the work, there is the scene, it just might not be your world. There are successful brands here. It is what you make of it.
Shot and styled by Charlotte Macs
Top 5 Sydney spots?
Earlwood Greek Food & Wines
Haldon St, Lakemba
Enfield Intermodel Logistics Centre
Sappho Books, Cafe & Bar
Hermit Beach
Who do you think is the most exciting young & emerging creative in Sydney?
Yasmine Moussali
Jeweller
@sacredhoneys
@pomegranatefreckles