Welcome to lowercase focus, a bi-monthly program which seeks to highlight emerging artists and exhibitions over the world.

 In my last focus article I looked at an exciting bunch of emerging artists whose practices explore illustration and animation. It’s an incredibly pivotal moment in the arts as new-media technologies begin to influence the way in which we experience, create and curate artworks and exhibitions. This time around, I have less of a focal point. Instead, I’ll simply be talking about artists who’ve recently inspired me with their creative pursuits.

5. Michael Fikaris

Melbourne-based interdisciplinary artist Michael Fikaris is a central figure in both Australia’s street art and comic art world. His artworks often examine the naturally occurring geometricism found in the Australian flora, where vibrant, floral and typically green paintings make up a huge body of his mural-based output. His comics are a different tale, however. Using a recurring black blob-like figure, his illustrative artworks look into capitalism in a cynical yet humorous fashion. Fikaris is also a founding member of The Silent Army, a Melbourne-based comic and print store, which can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/silentarmystoreroom/

4. Martine Syms

Self-described as a “conceptual entrepreneur,” Marine Syms is a Los Angeles-based artist whose culturally engaged works cut across mediums including video, installation and text-based publishing. I’ve been following her since she presented S1:E1 (2015) at the New Museum Triennial this year, and haven’t been disappointed since. Her highly experimental practice cunningly balances issues of social injustice and identity, often with the included twist of digital cultures.

Her work can be found here: https://martinesy.ms/

3. Kate Cooper.

Kate Cooper is known for her style which she calls hypercapitalism. A UK-based artist, Cooper began her career as part of the now infamous Auto Italia South East artist-run project cum art collective. Her works are a result of highly digitalised photographs which typically turn her female subjects into ‘ideal’ figures. Through her CGI renditions, Cooper’s models transcend their place as real people and exist as isolated figures of supposed perfection.

2. Texta Queen

Texta Queen is an Australian-based visual artist who explores issues of race, identity, gender and sexuality through ludic comics. Drawn with felt markers, or ‘textas’, their expansive practice is extremely thought provoking. Currently, they are fundraising to create a self-published colouring in book. Titled Learn Your ACABs, it will be a visual rendition of the alphabet song in which the lyrics have been morphed into acronyms exploring identity, prison abolition and community resistance.

The project can be found here: https://chuffed.org/project/learn-your-acabs-colouring-book-for-theyswarm

1. Nini Sum

Nini Sum is a Shanghai-based muralist and illustrator whose works are situated within a post-muralist practice. She explores colour variations and abstract theory while leaning towards an espousal of Chinese/Asian traditional art, often with reference to mono-screen printing effects. Nini is also the co-Founder of Idle Beats alongside Gregor Koerting, a Shanghai-based screen-printing studio.

Their details can be found here: https://www.instagram.com/idlebeats_china/

Emerson Radisich is a curator, writer and educator currently based in Melbourne, Australia.