|
This gallery of pics is hopefully a many-faceted portrait of myself as an artist, a vagabond artist for it describes my journey upon the world's infinite highway, drawing and dancing electric as I went. I took on the pseudonym 'Toby Zoates' in 1978 after attending a party in Sydney where I heard a posse of punks in the kitchen bragging to each other how one day they would be so famous as rock'n'roll artists they would be household names. An epiphany struck me, "that's what I need, a household name!" Next thing, I was watching TV and I noticed how the voice-over for a well-known Aussie breakfast cereal slurred his "s" into a "z" and, like 'Zorro', I thought I'd appropriate the letter and brand for my own subversive/satirical use and so I became "Toby Zoates", the breakfast of champions, sowing my wild oats, enjoying the Z factor and out-zipping Zippie the Pinhead if I could. Deluded, I see myself as a mad psychedelic alchemist of the soul, a 'vision quest' artist trying to make gold from the dross of existence, transmuting dolphin nature from human flesh. In 1977 I crashlanded in Sydney and flopped at Pyrmont Squats, a friend put a movie camera in my hands and I became a punk garage-filmmaker, recording the lifestyles of the 'down and out' for a few years, filmmaking constituting my "blue period" i.e thoroughly depressed at trying to climb the shitheap of the 'art world'. I created my art in the no-mans-land of derelict squats and then the infamous Northcott Housing Ghetto and for most of my non-career I've exhibited in the 'Underground', organising many events as fund-raisers for politicised stunts which garnered the "authorities" ire. I loved riots and rallies where politicos got arrested and tried to have my art support this flavour of rebellion. At first I called my studio "Guttersnipes" but "VAGABOND" is a better fit. In my jaundiced mind, here in the 21st century, ART had been turned into an old whore, fucked to death and sold to sleazy money-grubbers for body-parts, and I spit on their gravy, and elitist fame whores can go screw each other silly, so I rarely sell a painting, never walk a red-carpet or get invited to a snooty dinner party. But I still lead an adventurous life with many friends, and I dream art like a madman, and that's all I ever really wanted. Following are a few of the many posters, flyers, production sketches and cartoon critiques that poured out of me for the last 30 odd years. You can read in prose many of my picaresque adventures if you click on the link for "Toby the Punk Poofy Cat". Signed copies of my work are available if you email me. Thanks for being patient with my bitch rave. See you in the interstellar stardust. T.Z. |
 Captain Insatiable |
 Foundation Day |
 Garibaldis |
 The Pink Pussycat |
 Stanley |
 The XLCapris |
Spinner :: Soulprojector Artists :: Soulprojector Home :: Soulprojector Contact :: Webjanitor :: Site Map