20/2/2003

Matt Blackman

He�s grown up a bit, moved away from the curiously magnetic seediness of Sydney�s Kings Cross, but two years later Brooklyn Damson is still finding joy in the chaos that feeds his unique approach to graphic design.

It was Damson�s original slant on art - as street tag, slick poster, propaganda and political statement � that caught the eye of noise in the 2001 festival, and resulted in his works being plastered all over the front of �Monument� magazine�s noise supplement.

Pondering why he sent his stuff into noise in the first instance, Damson offers, "I was working on some personal projects and figured what the heck. It was a good way to get a reaction to what I was doing, it got my work out there, and since then I've had some good exposure in international and local press."

"I�m still drawing and using my Mac a lot�doing some personal stuff," he declares, reflecting on his post-noise activities. "Keeping pretty active in design and all that, I guess."

By "active", Brooklyn means preparing canvasses for an upcoming exhibition, illustrating for a clothing company, whilst keeping it bleedingly real with his continued passion for those ever-changing conceptual design pieces.

"These days I�ve definitely chilled a lot more," continues Damson. "Age and living by the ocean does that. Whereas when those works were submitted I was living in the Cross, so a lot of my immediate environment pissed me off, yet entertained me at the same time. I truly believe you are a product of your environment."

He refers in part to the �DAMSONPROJEKT� poster series that graces �Monument� magazine, featuring semi-futuristic cityscapes laced with subliminal warnings of imminent violence and an urgent 24/7 urban existence. Works influenced by, "�built-up concrete, surveillance cameras and sniffer dogs," as Damson explained in 2001.

In a new world of high alert, untrusting eyes over the shoulder and greater powers given to the authorities, the fight is well and truly on for young people to assert their creative minds to bring about change. But Brooklyn Damson doesn�t like to get too caught up in the current �global instability� hype, preferring instead to mention the broader role for art.

"In any political climate art expression is important, because that�s what it is � expression. People in society need that to voice themselves and sometimes an image can speak a lot louder than words."

And it�s not always easy � making a go of this whole �expression� game as a serious life activity. But put simply, Damson muses, "Young people have and always will face obstacles. Apparently that�s the fun of growing up."

Hence, good art comes down to being original and a person making the most of what they�ve got. Using Brooklyn�s dialogue as example, it�s about being comfortable with one�s self. But don�t forget to do what you�re told, according to Brooklyn�s parting words of wisdom.

"Make sure you fill out the form correctly."