Interview with Annabelle McEwen
bye Abel Ibáñez G.
Which tools did you use for the creation of this piece?
This work began as a photograph from my phone. I documented the changing nature of urban spaces by capturing the cement mixer which transports the concrete to fill new molds. I then took the image and digitally altered it to a binary state, creating a poster-like black and white contrast. The result was then printed and transferred onto MDF using a heat press. I then intervened one last time by scraping back the printed image with the words “Fill The Mould, Mold”.
I really enjoy the experience of seeing an iPhone photo become a physical object.
What were your references, influences or inspirations during your creative process?
The main reference in this work is the cement mixer. I am intending to allude to the rich connotations of industrialisation, urbanisation, colonialism and capitalism through this visual reference. Furthermore, the cement mixer also has personal childhood significance to me. I was intrigued and infatuated by them when they drove past on the street. They were strange, large, rotating machines which travelled on the road just like my parent’s car. This innocent intrigue combined with the contemporary industrial connotations of the cement mixer was the inspiration to make this work.
What was the hardest thing for you and how did you solve it?
The most difficult part of this work was experimenting with the best way to create a digital print on MDF.

Annabelle is a Sydney based artist undertaking a Masters of Fine Art at The National Art School with a Bachelor of Fine Art from the same institution on Gadigal land. Annabelle McEwen’s practice considers how users of digital landscapes achieve agency in an algorithmically curated space.