Reg Mombassa is the pseudonym of Chris O'Doherty, a New Zealand born artist and musician. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island The definition of an artist is wide-ranging and covers a broad spectrum of Activities to do with creating Art, practicing the Arts and/or demonstrating A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a Resident in Australia, he is equally as well known there for his musical exploits - founder and former member of the popular Australian band Mental As Anything and member of Dog Trumpet (alongside his brother Peter O'Doherty) - as he is for his art. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Mental As Anything is an Australian New Wave / Rock music band who since the late '70s have released numerous albums & singles and have produced Peter O'Doherty is a musician with Australian band Dog Trumpet (alongside his brother Chris aka Reg Mombassa) and formerly with Australian band Mental As Anything Worldwide, he is perhaps better known for his irreverent designs for surfwear company Mambo Graphics many of which were later adapted for use in a segment of the Sydney 2000 Olympics closing ceremony. Mambo Graphics, or simply Mambo, is an Australian Surfwear company established in 1984 "I am proud and happy to proclaim that you have presented to the world the best Olympic Games ever
In Reg's words he is inspired by "the wind, semi-professional birthday clowns, heavy machinery and the behavior of domestic animals". He is married with three children and lives in the Sydney suburb of Glebe. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 Glebe is an inner-city Suburb of Sydney. Glebe is located 3 Kilometres south-west the Sydney central business district and is part of the
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Early life
Mombassa was born Christopher O'Doherty in Auckland, New Zealand on 14 August 1951. The Auckland metropolitan area or Greater Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Events 1183 - Taira no Munemori and the Taira clan take the young Emperor Antoku and the three sacred treasures Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January O'Doherty, his parents and younger brother Peter imigrated to Sydney, Australia in 1969. He made a best friend named ashley maxwell. He enrolled in what is now the National Art School in Darlinghurst in 1969 but left the following year. Darlinghurst is an inner-city eastern Suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. He returned again in 1975 and obtained his Diploma of Painting in 1977. Between his stints at college and whilst there he supported himself with menial jobs such as builder’s labouring, cleaning, house painting and working on the railways. In 1976 he formed the rock band Mental as Anything with four fellow art school students ostensibly to play art school parties. Whilst never intending to be a serious band, the Mentals as they became known, eventually turned professional (after Mombassa's graduation from college) and went on to become one of Australia’s most popular bands, touring widely in Australia and overseas.
Art career
Mombassa's artwork is in two distinctive styles. Mental As Anything is an Australian New Wave / Rock music band who since the late '70s have released numerous albums & singles and have produced The type of artwork he designs for Mambo -almost cartoonish and in vivid colours, incorporating religious, political and popular culture themes - is probably the style he is most widely known for, however his landscapes and portraits, many of which are inspired by his childhood in New Zealand, are equally as sought after. His artworks can be found in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the National Gallery of Australia and other important regional galleries. The late Patrick White, Elton John and Ewan McGregor have all famously purchased his work. Patrick Victor Martindale White (28 May 1912 — 30 September 1990 was an Australian author who was widely regarded as a major English-language novelist of the 20th century Sir Elton Hercules John CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947 is an English pop / rock Singer, Composer Ewan Gordon McGregor (born 31 March 1971 ˌjuːən məˈgrɛgər is a Scottish Actor, who has had significant success in mainstream indie and art
Mombassa's first public showing was in a group exhibition held at Watters Gallery in Sydney in 1975 whilst he was still attending Art College. It was at this exhibition that Patrick White purchased some works and subsequently became a patron, purchasing many others over his life. He first exhibited solo at Watters in 1986, the year he also began designing clothing for Mambo. His works were exhibited in three Mental as Anything collective exhibitions in 1982, 1990 and 1998. Further solo shows were held at Watters in 1991, 1993, 1995 and 1998. Alongside posters, record covers and merchandise for Mental As Anything and Dog Trumpet, he has designed record covers for the likes of PIL, Crowded House, Mondo Rock and Paul Kelly. He has gifted artwork to many charitable and environmental organisations including Greenpeace and the Wilderness Society.
As the Mentals career waned, Mombassa's artistic output and demand increased, prompting him to make the difficult decision to cease touring with the Mentals in April 2000. He has continued to design for Mambo and hold sellout exhibitions at Watters in 2001, 2003 and 2005 with another to follow mid-2007.
In January 2007, a career retrospective of his work was held in Sydney at the S. H. Ervin Gallery. The SH Ervin Gallery is a major public art institution housed in the historic National Trust Centre on Observatory Hill The Rocks in Sydney, Australia An 80 page catalogue was released by the National Trust to coincide with this exhibition. It also saw the release of "Golden Sandals" directed by Haydn Keenan, a documentary on Mombassa featuring animated versions of his artwork. In March 2007 his self-portrait was selected as a finalist in the Archibald Prize. The Archibald Prize is regarded as the most important Portraiture prize and is the most prominent of all arts prizes in Australia. May 2nd 2007 saw the broadcast of "Golden Sandals"on SBS independent Australia. SBS independent (SBSi is the primary production unit of SBS "home-baked" Primetime programming
The origin of the name Reg Mombassa
In the early days of the Mentals, the band would often invent pseudonyms for each other that combined an exotic lastname with a common Australian firstname. "Reg Mombassa" was one of the products of that amusement. It is unknown if the extra "s" in Mombasa was deliberate or not. Mombasa is the second largest City in Kenya, lying on the Indian Ocean. He has stated in interviews that some of his earlier pseudonyms included "Brett Orlando" and "Dorky Bladder".
Dog Trumpet
In 1991, Mombassa formed the band Dog Trumpet with his brother Peter O’Doherty. Mental As Anything is an Australian New Wave / Rock music band who since the late '70s have released numerous albums & singles and have produced Since leaving the Mentals this has been his sole musical outlet. The group have so far released 4 albums and 2 E. P. s. A new album has been recorded and is due for release in 2007.
Other Music & Movies
In 1987, with Peter, Martin Plaza and members of GANGgajang, he recorded a country music album credited to The Stetsons. GANGgajang are an Australian band who formed in 1984. The three principal figures in the original lineup were former Riptides frontman Mark "Cal" Country music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. Reg also supplied the iconic lead guitar in GANGgajang's 1985 hit "The Sounds Of Then".
He has also appeared in a number of small Australian films, including Tender Hooks (1989), Strange Planet (1999) and Love's Brother (2004).
References
- Eye, No. Eye is an international Graphic design Magazine first published in London in 1990 46, Vol. 12, edited by John L. Walters, Quantum Publishing, London, Winter 2002. [1]
- Zuel, Bernard: Sentimental as anything, The Sydney Morning Herald, 29 June 2002. The Sydney Morning Herald ( SMH) is a daily Broadsheet Newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia Events 512 - A Solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar.
External links
- Official Reg Mombassa website
- Reg Mombassa art homepage
- Mambo Graphics website
- Dog Trumpet official website
- Golden Sandals documentry maker's website
- Reg Mombassa at the Internet Movie Database
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