Before Highlands artist Hamish Ta-mé was a director, he would get nude for a living.
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Hamish landed his first job when he was 17-years-old as a life model for Newcastle University.
As an impoverished art student living away from home, Hamish said he took what he could with “pragmatic desperation.”
“My job was to be in the drawing and painting classes, to get my kit off, and stand naked in front of strangers,” Hamish said.
“I weighed up how much I would get paid working in a bar and how much I would get paid taking my kit off, and I decided that I would get better pay if I took my kit off.
“I had no problems with body confidence or anything like that, so I was very happy to do it.
“I was an artist myself, studying art and had been a student learning to draw in this class, and suddenly to be a part of that process as the model for the drawing, you realise that it’s actually working as an artist. It’s a collaboration. It’s not a one-way exchange.
“The subject of the art actually contributes in a really meaningful way to the final artwork, so it was a very important thing for me to learn. Every part of the art process is a conversation whether it’s between the viewer and the artwork, and then the person who may purchase that work, and then building reputation.”
Hamish is now the director of marketing and communications at the Casula Powerhouse Art Centre.
“Working as an arts model and an artist, you realise that there’s the two sides of it and that it’s important to build your practice as an artist, but you also need to build your network and build the people who know your work,” he said.
Hamish started promoting his own exhibitions and eventually ran a gallery a gallery in Bowral for three and a half years until he was offered his current role.
Although he loves his role, Hamish wishes he had more time in the day to actually see the exhibitions and theatre he has promoted.