We’ve photographed a lot of artist’s homes, and as a general rule they tend to be colourful, eclectic, and well, full of stuff! Not the North Carlton home of artist Caroline Walls, though. Nope. The home Caroline shares with her partner Emma Hill is a minimal, pared back space, and yet, it perfectly sums up the creative couple who live here.
This compact two bedroom terrace house has been the couple’s home (and Caroline’s studio) for five years now. It’s a rental, which means the pair haven’t undertaken any major structural changes, though this hasn’t prevented them from putting their own unique stamp on the place.
Artwork is a recurrent theme throughout the house – including lots of Caroline’s own work, which explores themes of femininity, sexuality and identity. Alongside these prints, paintings and sketches is an impressive collection of ceramics – many by local makers, alongside thrift shop finds.
The couple’s biggest challenge living here is simply not having enough space! ‘My studio is also our dining room… It’s not unusual for the long hallway walls to be lined with large canvases before an exhibition, or for pieces I’m working on to creep into the living room’ the artist confesses.
Life and art are very much intertwined for Caroline. ‘As with the ever-consistent colour palette I use in my art practise, the tones in our home are in muted layers of nude, softs greys and deeper tones of black and deep blue’ the artist explains. ‘Generally speaking, there is so much of my work layered amongst our collections of ceramics, books and records that there is a very fine line between my work and our home – it’s a bit of an amalgamation!’
Though Caroline’s distinct aesthetic informs much of the visual feel of the home, she’s quick to point out that Emma brings the ‘soul’ to this house. ‘Emma has exceptional musical taste and knowledge – her ever-growing record collection is always playing… music is a really present and permanent fixture in our home.’
‘Our home is a real culmination of art, objects and furniture we have collected on our travels over the years, both together and separately’ Caroline explains. ‘It’s an eclectic, personal space that we hope tells a bit of our story – we don’t want our home to look like a generic showroom catalogue. Instead we hope it has some character, warmth and a sense of depth to it – a true expression of what we love and what has meaning to us.’
Caroline Walls is currently preparing for a solo exhibition in Sydney in November. She and Emma are also super excited to be tying the knot in New York next week – WOO!
This seems like an opportune time to remind all our dear readers to please check your electoral enrolment – the deadline to update your details for the upcoming postal vote on marriage equality is tomorrow, August 24th. (We’ll be voting YES, obvs.)
