Alia DiPaolo, Vibewire’s feature artist of the month is in the habit of finding odds and ends around the house and throwing whatever sticks onto a canvas along with paste and paint.

“I find it in my house, in my garage, around the place, all of it is scrap.”

Alia’s work bears the influence of the Abstract Expressionists of the 1950s — a splash of paint here, some steel wire there… and whatever else I can find here, here and here. There’s something chaotic and Pollock-like about her method and that’s where her paintings derive a lot of their intrigue.

“The movement of creating a work in itself is a kind of performance, especially that of Pollock”, Alia told Vibewire.

But while Pollock threw his alcoholic, tortured soul onto the canvas, Alia’s justification of her work is much less macabre and a lot more sensible.

‘I think I like the way different artists really get into the physical involvement in their work and the pleasure it gives them. It’s not so much done for someone else but because I like to do it’ she simply stated.

The ‘physical involvement’ is not just reserved for the artist in the case of this exhibition. Alia invites viewers to interact with her work by touching her materials, something your curiosity would likely motivate you to do upon seeing her work. The exhibition provides a tactile sensation over just a visual one.

Alia isn’t motivated by a political or social agenda, nor does her work seek to make a broad statement. Rather, her body of work, which is a collaboration of elements from her year 12 major work, university projects and her leisure painting, is simply a cross section of her own creative self- and in the art world why shouldn’t that be motivation enough to paint?

Alia’s work is a mixture of raw elements that combine in vibrant, often ambiguous ways. While aesthetically pleasing and inviting to touch, you may not be able to put your finger on as to why. ‘I love the idea of someone looking at a painting and having no idea what it is about, so they are forced to go back and take another look’, said the artist.

Alia is currently in her second year at College of Fine Arts (COFA) at UNSW.

She hasn’t named her exhibition, so I’m going to make up a name for her right now. I’m calling it, Things that look cool and interesting and also feel bumpy and weird, but kinda cool and interesting when you touch them. See, Alia? This is what happens when you don’t name your exhibition.

Feel free to visit the Vibewire office and see the Things that look cool and interesting and also feel bumpy and weird, but kinda cool and interesting when you touch them exhibition at the Vibewire Enterprise Hub at 525 Harris Street Ultimo, across from the Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre. Trust me, it’s a lot better than my awesomely spontaneous title suggests.