Artist Tiphaine De Fleurette Hunter-Brown wants to know if there’s pizza under Tracey Emin’s bed
We couldn’t fit all of Tiphaine De Fleurette Hunter-Brown’s career titles into our, well, title, so we didn’t even try. This powerhouse of a woman is a true slashie and we know that the list of titles will keep growing on a weekly, if not daily basis.
Tiphaine feels like her “slashie” nature has something to do with her (late diagnosed) ADHD and her intense focus superpower. Give her anything and she’ll be an expert at it in three days. She’s even taught herself to perform a tracheotomy, but maybe just get her to make you some really really good art instead…
Tiphaine is, in her own words, an “ex-army brat, Belizean Kriol/ Maya born in Belize C.A and now an Apollo Bay Local of 10 years. The creative director of The Project Space, a creative arts facility in Apollo Bay, Creative Director of Floreo Creative Web + Design and co-director of Videokills, a video and performance art-based collaborative network and festival and when I find time, an Artist.”
From Tiphaine’s “Gestures” exhibition - available here
A QUICK WHIP AROUND THE INGREDIENTS THAT MAKE UP TIPHAINE
PRONOUNS: She / Her
HOMETOWNS: Crooked Tree Belize, L.A, Sheffield, Edinburgh, London, Cyprus, Berlin, Melbourne, Apollo Bay
JOB DESCRIPTION: Creative Director, Designer, Artist, Mum, Food Truck Vendor, Studio Manager, Curator, DJ, Party Planner, Video Art Platform Creator
Tiph in her happy place, her Jungle Drifter food truck where she slings Belizean delicacies Fri, Sat & Sun
When starting The Project Space, Tiphaine’s plan was to open an “everything space” for her community in rural Victoria. Her own feelings of isolation pushed her to create a space for creativity and possibility and open it up to others as a community resource. And that’s how we met Tiphaine, through her project “The Development Lab” where we were artists in residence in 2021.
Goddess Lillith 59.4 × 84.1 cm
German Hahnemuhle paper and Giclee printed. Signed, Numbered and certification of authenticity. Limited Edition Gold Leaf Placement and hand embellished with unique gold leaf design available.
The Artwork is available for pick up only. AVAILABLE HERE
Her work has always been a way to figure herself out, and Tiph’s current style is all about doodling - a return to past days of covering her school workbooks with doodles. As a young adult, after art school in London she found her special art making place in Berlin, where she started Videokills, a platform promoting video art and video artists). The “Starving Artist” myth and reality really hit her in Berlin, and in our chat we get into how she survived and how much her community meant to her. We also unpack the complexities of being a woman of colour in the art world as well as a mother. Another concept we’re getting more and more interested in is the idea of “the Tortured Artist” and in the interview we get stuck into that too.
The Project Space, Apollo Bay
Tiph’s latest addition to her creative practice is slinging luscious Belizean food from her food truck, Jungle Drifter. It’s fascinating how when you’re an adult, you often just want to share the things you loved when you were a kid. Jungle Drifter was the natural progression for Tiph, as she needed some breathing space from her other pursuits, but still wanted to be connected to her community.
For someone who loves bread, there’s a few issues for Tiph that we all chuckled about. Her kitchen disaster story involved bread, and she has a bit to say about sourdough…
“I’m not a sourdough gal - I don't want to fight with my bread, that hurts, I don't want it to cut up my mouth”.
artwork:
Golden Tooth available here
Tiph is Belizean Kriol and grew up in Crooked Tree Village in Belize with her powerhouse Grandmother Ena as the master of the kitchen. We absolutely loved hearing the description of how Ena made coconut oil. From Belize, Tiph was then moved to the UK as a teenager, where the Yorkshire life meant stodgy bready hearty fare that she can still make perfectly today. During our chat, as we flicked through her family recipe book and chatted about her fave recipe, Fry Jacks (not turtle stew, sorry) we learn that the key is to fry in really (really) hot oil.
It makes so much sense that Tiphaine is tired, but happy. She’s got a lot of pots on the go and fingers in lots of pies, but she’s found a balance that works for her.
Fry up some bread and come join us as we find out
What Tiphaine Eats.
WHAT TIPHAINE EATS
BELIZEAN FRY JACKS
Recipes from home - Tiph’s ‘Crooked Tree Village’ cookbook
Fry Jacks are Belizean fried bread, Tiph’s happy place, little triangles of joy. The recipe has been passed down and apparently, Tiph’s Fry Jacks aren’t as good as her Grandma Ena’s. Flavours to look for / bliss points: a bit greasy, a bit bready, a bit chewy and crispy.
Tips:
they are ideally cooked in very hot coconut oil or lard
cut them into triangles and fry them and they puff up
once fried, slice them open and shove cheese in them
serve with refried beans and drink with a cold Pepsi or something equally sweet and cold
Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s a Fry Jack!
LINKS & MENTIONS
LINKS TO ARTIST INFORMATION, RESOURCES AND ANYTHING ELSE WE CHATTED ABOUT
The Project Space in full swing
INFORMATION AND TAKEAWAYS FROM OUR CHAT
You don’t have to be a “Tortured Artist” to make good art
To make coconut oil like Tiphaine’s Grandma Ena, you grate the flesh, boil it and skim the oil off the top
Just because you’ve become a mother and your art has changed doesn’t mean that your work is ‘less than’. It’s just as valid as before you had kids
If Tiph could make an existing art work out of food, she’d make Tracey Emin’s “My Bed” out of mushed pizza