Karley Feaver's favourite things

What does the word escapism mean to you? That's one of the questions artist Karley Feaver is examining in her new exhibition which opens at The Depot Artspace in Auckland this weekend.

Feaver interviewed a range of people for the show, including the homeless, a solo stay-at-home mother, a musician and a fetish worker, asking them personal questions about escapism - whether they had indulged lately, a special place they visit to escape, their indulgence or addiction, and more.

"I wanted to reflect on their experiences and find out about parts of their lives they don't really share with anyone. I guess interviewing them was an escape from my world into someone else's," explains Feaver, who interpreted the responses into bold, abstract art works.

Think clouds disguised as trees, coloured ribbons, geometric shapes and words, works Feaver describes as looking almost like a fantasy place.

"[It's] a colourful world of apparent happiness; however sometimes that place is shadowed with darkness. My use of colour isn't to confuse the viewer but to embellish the sometimes dark topic and the way it can be interpreted," says Feaver.

She is also working on another show that will open later in July, which will feature taxidermy - which is one of her favourite things.

* Interviews with Escapists, Saturday July 10 - 22, 3pm - 4.30pm. The Depot Artspace, 28 Clarence St, Devonport.

10 FAVOURITE THINGS

1. Stephen Martyn Welch painting
I bought this painting, called Sunday Morning, three years ago from Soca Gallery - which is now closed. This was my first piece of investment art. Marty is self-taught and is an amazing portrait artist. He has been a finalist twice in the Adam Portrait Awards, and was also the artist in a TVNZ6 show called The Sitting - a series of short "portrait" shows celebrating well known New Zealanders.

2. Animal prints
It's my favourite pattern, from leopard, zebra to giraffe print. I have quite a few animal print clothes and shoes - my most recent purchases are a pair of zebra print ankle boots from Wittner and a leopard print pencil skirt from Simona in Sydney. Sometimes I fantasise about having a whole room dedicated to animal prints, however that's probably a bit OTT. Although, in a flat I lived in many years ago, I covered the hallway walls with animal print fabric.

3. Reading blogs
I guess it's kind of like reading someone else's diary, but it's not naughty because they have decided to share it with everyone. I started my own blog about six months ago when I started researching for my exhibition, Interviews with Escapists. I wanted to share the stories of the people I was interviewing rather than keeping it all to myself.

4. Gary Nash glass
My previous boss bought this for me as a thank you gift. I worked for her for two-and-a-half-years before she relocated to Sydney. It is a custom piece, made especially for me. Green is one of my favourite colours and I love how Gary has mixed the green and white with the flower shapes. It reminds me of a spring garden or a meadow.

5. Hitachi retro stereo
My mum use to have one similar to this which we took to ballet lessons when I was a child. I found this gem on Trade Me a while ago and it still works perfectly. I even have my old tapes from when I was a teenager.

6. Mada Morrison art
I have three of her pieces which I found in a second-hand store many years ago. She is best known for her spider web paintings, which is an art form that developed in 15th century Bavaria and involves painting on a canvas of spider webs. She is the only person in New Zealand known to have mastered the art of spider web painting.

7. Kartell Louis Ghost chair
I love retro design and I have a couple of original Kartell pieces. My favourite is my Louis Ghost chair by Philippe Starck, which I purchased last year. It's made out of polycarbonate so is very durable and also very comfortable. I have mixed it with my other dining chairs: every chair is different. I love its elegance and irony.

8. Taxidermy
Some of my friends think I am slightly obsessed with taxidermy. My collection consists of pieces found on Trade Me and pieces I have designed myself. I have a taxidermist, just like I have a hairdresser. I give him my drawings and he does the taxidermy part, then I finish the piece off. Brian is one of my pieces; he is blowing a bubble which is made of glass. Steve is another; he is a baby doll with a rabbit's head.

9. Social networking
I am still quite new to this; however I have found it's a pretty powerful tool to use if you want to get people to know what you are doing, and also to meet interesting, like-minded people. I currently use Twitter and Facebook as my main forms of social networking.

10. My Canon 450D camera
I bought this only a couple of months ago - it's really important to have a good digital camera to take quality photos of your art. You have so much more control over the image with a digital SLR camera.