17c起草社区

Sydney painter and Sniffies heartthrob Venn Miles is opening his third this Saturday. The body of work, entitled 鈥淎ct Out, Desire Me鈥�, explores how a lubed, naked body might be far more slippery in our minds, and asks whether our memories, warped by lust, imagination, forgetfulness, and time, might record a history far more pertinent than what actually occurred.

鈥淭his one is very erotic; it鈥檚 sort of like a sexual diary,鈥� Miles told 17c起草社区, 鈥渨hich is very typical 鈥榞ay guy painter鈥�. Of course that makes it fun and sexy, but it鈥檚 also a memoir, and because of that, it鈥檚 very focused on memory as a concept, the shifting and the fading and the changing and the unreliability of memory.鈥�

The paintings, largely oil and charcoal on linen, depict nebulous humanoid figures, distorted yet erotic. 鈥淚 find that the amorphousness of my work is how I show movement in a still image,鈥� Miles explained, befitting the idea that memories are constantly shifting.

While realism aficionados might take offense at Miles鈥� uniquely abstract style, he cautions viewers not to expect to see 鈥渞eal bodies鈥�. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not representative,鈥� Miles said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e representative of memories, in that they are wrong, and that they鈥檙e not how anything looks.

鈥淚 like that memories are made up. I like that it’s all wrong. I think it’s interesting and funny, like when you try to recount a memory and someone else is like 鈥榯hat鈥檚 not what happened鈥�, you know, I think that鈥檚 funny. It鈥檚 more interesting to me than what actually happened.鈥�

When asked to pick a favourite painting, Miles cautiously pointed to ‘鈥�, a 122 脳 153cm oil and charcoal on linen. While apparently painters, like parents, are not supposed to have favourites, Miles reflected on how the piece captures an inner-conflict that troubles so many creatives.

鈥淚 think something a lot of artists struggle with is not saying the same thing twice, but to still create work that is stylistically theirs constantly. So it鈥檚 finding this balance between having an identifiable style, but not recreating the same work.鈥�

鈥淚 think that happens in sex too. In a relationship – and its not a bad thing – you do have the same sex over and over again. And it’s good sex, it’s the sex you鈥檝e come to know and love, but you are saying the same thing twice, three times.鈥�

“The words became more about consuming someone”

The exhibition is not Miles鈥� first to choose sex as a subject. 鈥�鈥�, Miles鈥� 2025 solo exhibition with , examined the intense volatility of desire.

鈥溾�楯ust eat the skin鈥� was actually just a throw-away line about kiwi fruit,鈥� Miles explained. 鈥淢y [now partner] Izaak was saying he doesn鈥檛 like eating them because you need tools, and I was like, 鈥榡ust eat the skin鈥�.

鈥淏ut in a more poetic sense, the words became more about consuming someone. Holding them inside you, having that warmth in your belly like you do after eating. Having a person give you that same feeling.鈥�

When asked if Miles hopes his artwork inspires others to 鈥榗onsume鈥�, the Sniffies Ambassador was quick to reply. 鈥淚 hope it does!鈥� Miles said, his voice equal parts passion and sincerity. 鈥淚 want people to be fucking. I think it鈥檚 good for people! And until it鈥檚 something that鈥檚 universally accepted, I think it’s going to be an interesting thing to make art about.鈥�

While the flourishing artist has done just that, the current exhibition marking his second solo show with , many will be surprised by his humble beginnings.聽

鈥淢y dad was really into drawing growing up,鈥� Miles said, 鈥渁nd I always found it really impressive that he could draw, and I would always get him to draw me things that I liked, and I just thought it was so cool that he could imagine something and just鈥�put it on a page. I was always really enamoured by that. So he taught me.鈥�

Despite spending his teenage years with a graphite pencil in hand, Miles never imagined his love of art becoming anything more than a hobby. In fact, as a teenager, he didn鈥檛 care for painting at all.

鈥淚 think I鈥檇 convinced myself that I couldn鈥檛 paint,鈥� Miles recounted, 鈥渙r that I wasn鈥檛 good at painting. And so I just never did. I always just stuck to graphite on paper, and that was kind of it.鈥澛�

It wasn鈥檛 until one of those miraculous 鈥榝uck it鈥� Covid moments that Miles decided to swap his pencil for a brush.聽

鈥淚 had this old box of oil paints that my grandmother gave me, and I just kind of went for it. I鈥檇 never painted anything in oils. I鈥檇 played around with acrylic in high school, but I was never very good. But with oils, I was really impressed by the way they moved. I really liked how malleable they were. You just didn鈥檛 get that with acrylic.鈥澛�

That said, Miles鈥� self-taught dalliance with oil paint was not without its tribulations. 鈥淚 think I definitely misunderstood when people said that they were slow-drying,鈥� Miles grinned.聽 鈥淟ike, I thought they meant a couple of hours. I didn鈥檛 realise it was days at a time.鈥�

With each oil experiment, Miles began sharing his work on Instagram. 鈥淭he stakes were so low,鈥� Miles explained, 鈥渂ecause I had no intention of becoming an artist.鈥� But soon, followers became patrons, and it was those fans that decided Vinn Miles was an artist, long before he did.聽

Vinn Miles鈥� exhibition opens this Saturday, the 11th April, at in Dee Why. The exhibition is open to the public from 1-3pm, and the exhibited works are purchasable on the day or online via the official . Miles is contactable via his Instagram, .