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 Thursday will see the fourth instalment of the hugely popular annual skateboard deck art show, I USED TO SKATE ONCE. SUSAN MILANOVIC speaks to one of the featured artists, ELANA MULLALY, about why the exhibition has become such a Brisbane institution.
Organised by dapper culture maven Matt Brady of clothing store The Outpost, I Used To Skate Once 4 will feature a range of local, interstate and international artists using blank skate decks as a canvas. Over twenty artists will participate in the event including local illustrator, Elana Mullaly.
Mullaly was raised in a small North Queensland town and used art as a way of escaping the isolation of rural life – her very first memories being of drawing. Elana’s passion for art has been a driving force through out her life, leading to formal training with a major in illustration. She describes her style as tangled melancholy and is inspired by femininity, nature, old children’s book illustrations and dreams. Her distinctive work is whimsical and features gorgeous, dreamy characters.
 Mullay’s work has featured widely, with her illustrations featuring on Sydney artist Jeremyville’s range of ‘schetchal’ bags. Elana has also collaborated with Nookart who produce products such as tins, mirrors and keyrings featuring her artwork. More recently she has teamed up with Myer Chermside to produce a large-scale mural. She has also featured in the past as part of Curvy, an annual book showcasing the work of exceptional female artists from around the globe. Internationally her work has been shown in Vienna, and will hang in Montreal at the end of the year. Locally, her work will feature with Joel Birch at the Outpost next month.
When asked about why the I Used To Skate Once receives such a warm reception every year, Elana states, “Mix a wide range of artists from different backgrounds, great music, the tremendous support from Matt at The Outpost and beer with good people, and it makes for a very fun and inspiring night. It’s really exciting to see Brisbane embracing art events on both scales of the spectrum.”
Elana says that the unconventional canvas of a blank deck influences her creative process, stating “the format of the board definitely gets one thinking about how to occupy the space; I usually start with a theme and find a way to make it flow with the dynamic of the board.”
Elana’s board will hang along side an impressive list of artists at the exhibition, including Princess Tina’s Beci Orpin, English label Surburban Bliss, Toby Shuall, Anthony Lister, Joseph Allen, Claudio Kirac, Bad Teeth and Max Olijnyk – just to name a few.
The opening night of I USED TO SKATE ONCE 4 on Thursday June 26 will also feature excellent bands Good God, Ouch! My Face, No Anchor and I Heart Hiroshoma. The boards will hang in The Outpost until July 26, so be sure to check them out.
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