Five Minutes with Gemma O’Brien from Project 5

I was looking for something to pass the time on a flight; I had the bag and some kids’ pencils, and started doodling. I thought ‘Fully Sick’ would be an appropriate name for it. From then, every time I took a flight I would draw on another bag and it grew into this big project.

How did a series of doodles lead you to an impressive freelance career?

It started as a passion for the history of typography, which grew as I observed the different forms it can take. I’ve worked for lots of commercial clients such as Heinz, QANTAS and The New York Times, and I also do some art-based projects as well such as Project 5.

Typography is your background – how big is the field in Australia these days?

I think both the field and the interest from the general public has grown a lot in the last five to ten years. It used to be a small field with people specialising in typography, but now lots of people use it in their craft, there are workshops available and it is a continuously growing community.

Project 5: Volume 7 is a three-day live art event raising money for disadvantaged youth. What will you be working on for the event?

There are two components – I and three other artists will be participating in a three-day live painting exhibition, and then we have also prepared some works specifically for the public exhibition, which will be on display over the two weeks.

How well does your art translate from smaller form ‘spew bags’ to larger canvasses? Are there any challenges specific to each, beyond the obvious issues of space?

Even when working large-scale, the key is to draw small-scale first. It is important to take into account the physical interaction with the work, and always make the small details impactful.