Interview:  Lara Pacillo // Photos: Staff Only
Five years ago, Sam McLaren opened SODA Objects in West Croydon as a vintage furniture store focused on filling spaces with beautiful things. Itâs since evolved to incorporate new with old, welcoming local and international designed furniture into the space, along with objects and art, all âthoughtfully sourced, meticulously curated, and frequently invigoratedâ.
This month, bringing friend and fellow design enthusiast Kara Town on board, SODA Objects has pushed the envelope further by opening Staff Only, a dedicated contemporary art and design gallery adjoining SODA Objects.
We visited the gallery to chat with Sam, Kara, and the first exhibiting artist on the program Henry Jock Walker, to chat about autonomy and informality at Staff Only, the convergence of art and design, and looking at spaces with fresh eyes.
Tell me about the different aspects of Staff Only.
SAM: The exhibition of art will be as a traditional gallery, and we do have facility to take on residency in the space in the onsite dedicated studio, much like Jockâs just done.
Heâs been using the space for over a month furthering his ability to produce big work, and pieces that match the space itself. Heâs used the space as a residency, we then assist with documentation of the work, cataloguing, then we obviously exhibit the work, and can then handle the sales.
So youâre supporting the whole process really?
SAM: Yeah, we’re lucky in the fact that we have the space to do that. So that covers the art aspect. Then design-wise, we will likely do what we’re calling “Showcasing of Design” where a local designer, either here in Adelaide, nationally, or internationally, can come into the space and present a group of products, either as a solo or a group show.
We can either be involved in the curation process of that, or we can do a completely hands-off approach where they can use the space from more of a hirer point of view.
Is the idea to bring art and design together under one roof?
SAM: Yes, as opposed to a traditional art gallery that just shows art, we’re really taking a cue from the fact that we have a designer furniture store attached to the gallery. We’re highlighting the fact that it’s both art and design, a dedicated space to show both of those things.
KARA: The gallery is not exclusively canvases or works on paper. We’d like to work with people who are makers as well and craftspeople.
Also, in a sense, the two spaces combined gives you a holistic view of how to have art in your home. I think a lot of people have a fear of having art in their home, or they don’t know how to go about purchasing art or displaying art or living with art. Thereâs a sense within the showroom to want to show that art is something that’s really accessible.
If you have it in your everyday, it can actually increase your quality of life too. I mean, it often reflects what’s happening or has happened in the world, and it connects you to people and places and situations. Instead of it just being the white wall gallery with art hanging on the wall, we want to show it in context.
How did Staff Only come about?
SAM: It came through our ability physically to use space in this beautiful building, and then people’s response to that. We set it up to show furniture and show art but as soon as we turned the space into a clean environment with big white walls, designers and artists like Jock, would come in and get excited about it â they see a space that isn’t available anywhere in Adelaide. It has an ability to show you a certain type of work and a certain size of work. So what we’re doing is weâre facilitating that.
We’ve been talking about it for probably two years, In May, Kara and I curated OPEN HOUSE, which was a selection of local and international design, both from SODA and from Ahness, which is an objects and art business that Kara runs. As a result of that and working with one another, we found a common ground and a common love for showing art, and for facilitating the process, both for ourselves and for others. So we got together and had a chat about potential ways it could work and decided to give it a go.
What’s the concept behind âDual Fuelâ?
JOCK: I did a lap around Australia about ten years ago in this old van that’s now being stored at my folkâs. It was full neoprene, covered in paint. The idea was to use both of those materials â the van and the neoprene self-made paintings â like I had for a long time. But then also play with working with metal and how those things combined.
Do you have any favourite pieces?
JOCK: Because itâs such a big space, I’ve got a couple of big pieces like 2.4m by 1.8m, which Iâm excited to show. Thereâs not that much opportunity to show that scale of work in Adelaide.
Is there something that all Staff Only exhibitions will have in common?
SAM: No, not really. We’re trying to be diverse in that regard.
KARA: Weâve put out an open call for people to apply which they can do through our website. We just like to see what we can do, really. We don’t feel there are any real constraints at this point in time. We just want to feel our way through it.
SAM: There’s no prerequisites or a career stage that someone needs to be in to be involved â it’s based around the person and their work. I’m very cognisant of the fact there are so many people out there making art and there’s a distinct lack of places who are willing or able to show art. We just really want Staff Only to be a place where people feel like they not only can show art, but see art and view art, especially in Adelaide.
I think there’s a slight gap in the market for something maybe a little less formal and that’s what we’re trying to do. Weâre trying to break down that formal stigma around traditional art galleries. We’re not trying to do it in a less organised way or anything like that, but I think it’s just less exclusive, more inclusive.
What do you hope for people to experience when they come to Staff Only?
SAM: Something different, something fresh. We said the other day, it was something along the lines of âlooking at a gallery space with fresh eyesâ, and also just experiencing a beautiful building and beautiful art or design.
People often come in here and they say, âOh, there’s nothing like this in Adelaide. There are only things like this in Sydney and Melbourneâ. Why can’t Adelaide have spaces like this that push the boundary? Try something new? And I guess that’s the response that Iâd like to see: people walking in and going, âWow, Adelaide doesnât have something like this, and now it doesâ.
Staff Only: 1 Rosetta Street, West Croydon // Gallery hours: Wednesday â Sunday 11am – 5pm
