Mikey Freedom at RollieX: A Complimentary Art Exhibition in Fitzroy, Melbourne (2nd-30th November)
November’s Artist in Residence is Mikey Freedom: a multidisciplinary artist based on the NSW South Coast. Mikey came up through Sydney's graffiti scene in the 1980s and moved into murals, posters, collage and fine art. He calls his style 'rhythmic classicism', which features bold colour, cut-out forms and a feel drawn from jazz improvisation.
Mikey’s work hangs in some of Sydney's favourite venues, including Continental Deli, Bastardo and Shell House and has created work for brands such as Campari and Sanremo.
As part of our Friends of Mine campaign, we sat down with Mikey to ask him a few questions about his life and how community and connection shape art.
Rollie: In your bio, you mention that your projects are driven by a belief that art should be embedded within everyday life, enriching the places where people gather, connect and create shared experiences. Can you share more about this and what it means to you to enrich people’s lives?
Galleries are great; they can be good, but I’ve always felt that art needs to be in the midst of life, not somewhere removed from it. Hence, some of my most rewarding experiences have come from seeing my work become part of places where people gather, where conversations happen, where families spend time and where everyday life unfolds. Whether I'm painting a wall, making a sculpture or creating an installation, I'm also interested in what art can bring to a place beyond its physical appearance. It might be a sense of identity, a memory, a little unexpected beauty or simply something that makes someone stop and look. I think there's something rather wonderful about art finding its way into people's lives without them necessarily having gone looking for it.
For me, enriching people's lives isn't about making grand gestures or imposing an idea. It's about creating something that might move someone, stir a memory, provoke a thought or bring a moment of pleasure into an otherwise ordinary day. We often underestimate the significance of those small encounters. Art has the ability to connect us in ways that are sometimes difficult to articulate, and I think that's part of its value. Ultimately, I'd like to think that something I've made might leave a place, or someone who encounters it, just a little richer for having been there.
Rollie: You’re exhibiting at RollieX as part of our holiday campaign, 'Friends of Mine', this campaign is a representation of the importance of connection, friendship and community at this time of year. How has community and connection impacted you and your work?
Community and connection have probably shaped my life and work more than I sometimes realise, which can be a double-edged sword of course. Though I've always been drawn to people, their stories, their differences and the things that bring us together. For without it we can become a boat without a rudder. Though, moving from Sydney to the South Coast, raising a family and becoming part of a smaller community gave me a different appreciation of belonging and the importance of the places and people around us. Sometimes it's hard work, sometimes it's easy but my work has often grown out of those experiences, particularly through public art, murals and projects within hospitality, where art becomes part of a shared environment rather than something experienced in isolation. I've been fortunate to work with some wonderful people along the way, and those relationships have often been just as important as the work itself.
Of course, Art can be a solitary pursuit, but it often comes alive through other people. I'm not particularly interested in art existing in a vacuum; it's rewarding to see it have a life beyond me, to find its way into people's everyday experiences and perhaps give them something to connect over. Friendship, community and a sense of belonging are not things we should take for granted. They're what give so much of life its meaning.
Rollie: You came up through Sydney’s graffiti scene in the 80s and that had a huge influence on your work what did that period teach you that you still carry today?
Sydney's graffiti scene in the '80s was a tough learning curve, an adventure indeed, though an all-important part of my early years. It introduced me to the idea that art didn't need permission, a particular setting or an invitation to exist. It was immediate, at times instinctive, driven by what I think was a pure desire to make a mark. There was a real sense of discovery in it, everything was new, of finding your own visual language and learning through looking, doing and taking chances. I think what has stayed with me most, excuse the pun, is freedom. I need that reminder now and then to stay conscious of this, as perhaps many artists, including myself, become too careful over time, so maintaining that willingness to experiment and trust an instinct is important.
I've moved through many different forms of art since then, but that early period of independence, at such a young age, has never really left me. I still believe there's something to be said for making things because you feel compelled to, rather than because somebody has decided they should be made.
Rollie: You’ve worked with a lot of incredible brands like Campari, Food For Everyone, Sydney Opera House etc. How do you approach these collaborations? How do you balance a brand’s vision with your own artistic expression?
I enjoy working both ways. The trick is not to entirely tailor what you do to the client, they want difference, right? They’ve come to you for a point of difference unless it’s just a branding exercise? Fortunately, I’ve worked for companies that have aligned well with what I do; a client might require something particular from you too, in those cases I feel at complete ease also. Any opportunity to stretch myself is welcomed. Here’s the mantra: “Challenge brings change,” and all that good stuff, you know, have perspective! Of course, there's a real freedom in being left to my own devices, following an instinct and seeing where it takes me, but I get just as much out of working alongside other people. I'm curious about what happens when someone else's ideas meet my own, I learn that way and sometimes the outcome is better too. But I take a lot of pleasure in being trusted to bring their vision to life without losing sight of what made it theirs in the first place. I don't think collaboration means compromising what you bring to the table; if anything, it should give everyone a chance to bring a little more to it. Some of the best working relationships I've had have grown into genuine friendships, which is a pretty good return on making things together. For me, it comes down to trust, a willingness to listen, respect and a bit of generosity. That's often where the interesting stuff happens.
Rollie: You’ve worked across a lot of canvases: painting, wall murals, sculptures, installations - and with a lot of different mediums (oil, decoupage, graphic design - print and digital, both represented in the gallery space). What’s your favourite medium to create with right now? How do ideas travel from one medium to the next for you?
I've never really been one for choosing a favourite medium. Some are foundational of course but I tend to follow the idea now, and let it dictate what it needs to become. It might start with a drawing, end up as a painting, a cutout, find its way onto a wall or turn into something I can walk around. I've always enjoyed that kind of cross-pollination. I don't see much point in putting boundaries around things anymore, particularly when one medium can open up possibilities you hadn't considered in another. I basically like the physical business of making things — cutting, painting, spraying, assembling, moving things around until they feel right. There's a certain pleasure in getting your hands dirty and making something exist. I suppose I'm less interested in mastering one particular medium than in keeping the possibilities open. To be honest, I've never been very good at staying in a lane, anyway.
Presently, I have a few exciting things bubbling away, which look like less when you look on my socials, as those things are staying in the bag for now, but they might potentially change the direction of how I live as an artist. Stay tuned!
Rollie: Your work will be on display at RollieX for the month of November, in our Fitzroy store - share with us the stories behind the collection.
The collection brings together a number of ideas, images and visual forms I've been working with for years, though I've never been particularly interested in simply repeating myself. Cut-outs, collage and drawing sit alongside and on top of one another, and quite deliberately. Composition is everything! There's a certain rhythm to the way they come together, with one image interrupting another, shapes jumping out, finding their own company and fragments of different stories sharing the same space while inevitably finding their weight and becoming grounded. Dates are an important part of the work. They connect to particular times, places, people and events, giving the pieces a kind of personal and historical undertow. Some references are quite direct, others are hidden, there to be stumbled upon.
I'm interested in the things we carry with us, what we remember, what gets lost and how seemingly unrelated moments can become connected. Life, right? There's a bit of the autobiographical in there, and people, become like ships passing. A little social observation too. I always leave room for the viewer to discover something, rather than spelling everything out. These pieces have their own histories, but they're not finished of course, it’s a thread that will continue to be sewn until completely stitched up.
Rollie: Who are some of the creatives (friends, peers or heroes) that inspire your craft?
I can look back over my life as an artist, graffiti writer, art student—whatever period of my life it was—and I can recall and cite each influence and inspiration. I carry it all quite consciously. Some of these are due their work, others because of their lives or both. Some of course are historical, some of whom I had idolised in my teens and now greatly respect as friends. So let me count the ways; those being most pivotal in my development: Michelangelo, Jack Kirby, Käthe Kollwitz, Frank Frazetta, Paul Gauguin, Future Art Beat 4, Mistery, Brett Whiteley, Romare Bearden, Don 1, Dondi, Skeme, Futura 2000, Noc 167, Picasso, Matisse, George Lambert—the list goes on but I won’t hehehe.
Rollie: How do you stay inspired even in times when it feels harder to keep the momentum going?
Importantly, I don’t force things, I don’t work like a conveyor belt. I don’t understand that when it comes to art. Plants grow according to the seasons, we do too. Don’t fight that! Some people have phenomenal output, good for them but I’ve always said “if you don’t care, you can create anything & as much of it as you want” - but I personally care and if anyone does, there’s a period of reflection that’s required, maybe even a period of doing nothing? Otherwise you’ll lose sight of why you began creating in the first place, your work will suffer, and you might even burn out. We need to develop and grow in whatever it is we do, get better, be better, which means time. I’ve been around awhile. I’ve been to the mountaintop, and I know I’ll always visit the valley again, so for me, meaning propels me, purpose defines me, and when I’m not inspired I’ll just play, experiment or grab a remote and watch an old movie or listen to music.
Rollie: Finally, what do you hope people feel when they spend time with your art?
Maybe what I’ve been feeling over the past year: what relationships mean to me, what it means to lose people, to love someone, be betrayed, exploited, to trust, to hope, to go around this ball of wax yet again & again. To not give up!
See Mikey Freedom at RollieX, Fitzroy
Mikey Freedom's works are on display at RollieX on Gertrude Street, Fitzroy from 2 November to 29 November 2026. Entry is free. Follow Mikey on Instagram at @mikeyfreedom71.