If you’ve spotted a bearded man squirting paints onto canvas while riding a wave at Coledale, it was probably Henry Jock Walker.
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The 30-year-old ephemeral performance artist has taken residence this month in Thirroul for The Scrambled Egg & Dart Experiment.
Walker has been creating a mass of colourful solo and collaborative works at popular surf spots for his exhibition opening Friday.
He will also continue to create on canvas in public view via his “Jock Box” inside the Egg & Dart shop front window on Raymond Road.
Last week the artist left his mark on the side of Finbox surf store with the help of Aaron Fell-Fracasso. He painted a mural, partly while sitting on a suspended milk crate and wearing a blue morph suit.
Another public artwork is expected to pop-up this Saturday.
“I just like the idea of people having conversations [about my art] and I like the idea of people not enjoying it as well. I like it to be confronting,” he said.
“I like going to the pub and hearing the old blokes that walk past muttering under their breath, having conversations about hating it.”
Walker said it’s harder for people to talk about art when it’s hanging in a gallery, so tries to help the flow of conversation by bringing his art to public spaces in small towns and big cities around the country.
His craziest feat was wanting to use his dad’s farming tractor for a project in the rural town of Burra in South Australia.
The family farm was only 50 kilometres away but it took Walker around 48 hours to drive the run-down metal beast to his destination, with many locals pitching in when it kept breaking down.
“I wanted to do a parade down the street where the whole community was painting … making a bit of a spectacle and get everyone involved like a Christmas parade,” he laughed.
“It was pretty relieving the next day, there was probably about a hundred people all blasting this thing with paint while I was sitting on it with my friends.”
Walker likes involving the community in his projects because it’s “the best way to learn about the world”.
There will be no tractors at Friday’s exhibition opening but Walker will be bringing some Illawarra musicians and artists to help him with his video clips of creation and colourful canvasses.
The Scrambled Egg & Dart Experiment by Henry Jock Walker and friends, Raymond Road in Thirroul. Opening Friday July 29 6pm.