Upon learning that my assigned artist was the incredibly accomplished Megan Evans, I was ecstatic. Her blog and website confirmed just how extraordinary she is. Immediately I found her art to be thought provoking and visually engaging. I was also particularly interested in her recurring red motif. After reading about her work and the concept behind it, I knew straight away that I could make an interesting video portrait. Megan is particularly interested in creating artwork that can make a difference and act as a social dialogue. She focuses on the problematic concept of the colonisation of Australia and her ancestral role within this (especially the identity that results from this). Following this research, I sent her an email introducing myself and thanking her for volunteering for the project. I asked to exchange details and if I could give her a call as part of my preliminary research. Her response was prompt and assured me that our collaboration would be smooth sailing from here. Initially I was worried as Louise had warned us about potentially unreliable artists.

Louise prepared us with some interview questions that would provide further insight into our artists’ work and careers. As advised I planned to record the interview and waited nervously as the phone rang. Despite stumbling through my questions, Megan was incredibly friendly and gave great answers to the questions. I had been prepared to prompt her if she struggled to answer some of the questions or gave short answers but she was an open book. I found all of her answers very inspiring and was excited to be able to use this information in the portrait. I learnt that she had fascinating and serious concepts behind her work that can be explored in my project. However, she unfortunately doesn’t have any work on display or upcoming shows at the moment. Whilst this is slightly difficult when it comes to developing material for filming, its something that I can work around if I develop more of a narrative.

After presenting my ‘one line’ and ‘one paragraph’ pitch to Louise and our guest industry expert, it was suggested to me that I focus on Megan’s family history. This means that I could have her answer some more personal questions on her ancestors’ history and for example, have her show photos of them. In addition to this, I’ve decided to try and capture some of Megan’s creation process and have her give an in-depth tour of her studio. Additionally she is friends with another artist participating in the RMIT digital collaboration project. Maree Clarke and Megan have been friends for years according to her website and both have similar focuses in their art. Therefore Maree could fit into the story and be a possible subject to interview on Megan’s career.

Currently, I’m preparing for my first on camera interview with Megan and am working on some provocative questions that will hopefully provide a clearer direction to my narrative.