In the Window: Robert Lee Davis

If you've wandered along Footscray Mall recently, you may have noticed a very tall man standing on a chair in our window. That man is artist Robert Lee Davis, and he has created an artwork you can get lost in. No wait! We got it wrong! Don't get lost. That wouldn't help Tony, who is lost and needs help to find his mum. Help Tony find his mum instead!

Robert's work is inspired by the comic Lost at Highpoint, written by Tony Le in a workshop at 100 Story Building last year. You can get interactive by spotting Tony's mum in the window, or come inside and read Tony's original comic.Some lucky students attending a workshop last week also got the chance to help Robert create it!

We caught up with Robert and asked him about his work and some of his favourite things.

Favourite urban myth?

Bigfoot

If you could be a character in a book, who would you be?

I would be Eustace from the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. Eustace starts out very spoiled and self centered but grows and changes into a strong and kind leader.

How did you come up with the work?

For the window of 100 Story Building, I took for inspiration the story: Lost at Highpoint, by Tony Le. I felt his character, simple story and graphic illustrations had great appeal to a wide audience – who hasn’t found themselves lost at some point?

I wanted to stay true to Tony’s design. My process for creating the mural involved reading his story many times to understand Tony’s feeling of being lost in a mass.  I remembered a childhood story entitled: 

Where’s Wally? 

by the British illustrator, Martin Handford and thought how fun it would be to involve the viewer in the search for Tony's mum! I hope the visitors to 100 Story Building will enjoy getting lost in the illustration.

Thank you Robert!

Born in Virginia, USA Robert Lee Davis is a Melbourne-based artist who has lived and worked as an artist and arts educator in China, Egypt, USA and Australia. Working across painting and collage the artist has held group and solo exhibitions in China and Australia including Then, Now and Everything in Between (fortyfivedownstairs, Melbourne, Australia 2014), Different Species (ifa Gallery, Shanghai, China, 2011), We Know Where We Want to Go – Bu Wen Bu Wen, (YK Art Space, Shanghai, China, 2010) and Discoveries, (Obscura Gallery, Melbourne, 2011). Continually collecting conversations and images from the people and places he encounters, the artist constructs poetic visual-scapes which address themes of memory and conversation.

Robert is currently exhibiting and residing as Artist-in-Residence at the Maritime Porthole Gallery, Docklands.

In the Window installations are supported by an Australia Post Our Neighbourhood Community Grant.