1.8 Louise Ashcroft on Instagram

Transcript

Yeah. Ooh, what flavor is that? No sniffling on the mic, please. Yeah, that goes to you too, Mr. Strawberry and banana. Yeah. Milkshake. Are we gonna look at the Instagram? You’re gonna ask me what flavor I have, or…? I don’t fucking care, dude. What is that? It’s like brown flavor. Brown flavor. That’s my favorite flavor. Mango flavor. Mango flavor. It’s an Alfonso mango. It’s a KP mango.

All right, so, this is Hung Up. Coming to you from Matt’s computer. Coming to you from Matt’s bedroom. This week we’re in Matt’s bedroom for Louise Ashcroft’s Instagram account. That’s right. Maybe you want to explain a little bit about what she’s doing before we like dive in and look at some content? Yeah, I mean, I don’t know a hell of a lot about this artist. I saw her perform once, which was cool, and I basically just been following her on Instagram. I found her through a project.

She created called Alt MFA, which is basically like a free community run MFA program in the UK, which I thought was like a super cool kind of project. And now I’m kind of back in Sydney, and my kind of relationship to her, to Louise, is just via Instagram.

And I think she’s doing some really unique stuff with her Instagram, and I totally thought it would be worth a podcast episode. Yeah, cool. All right, well, let’s start this off. So, it’s the Monday after the long Easter weekend. It’s probably the longest weekend on Sydney’s calendar. And it’s also just the Monday after Art Month, right?

Yeah. So, we, well, we wanted to go to a gallery like how we normally do, but it seems like there’s not that much going on right now. So, this is what we’re suggesting you do this week. Yeah, totally. Check out Louise’s Instagram. Like, nurse your hangover. I think this quite suits us this weekend, doing one from your bedroom. Yeah. I’ve had a, quite an experimental weekend. So, calls for an experimental podcast.

I just wanted to talk about her DP. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. So, it’s like her, like, rock climbing some, like, maybe like a not so far away wall. Like, it’s not in the middle of the bush, I reckon. It’s like in the city or something. I don’t know. But, like, super low res, like, travel pic that sucks. Like, your auntie took it of you and it’s, like, not flattering.

Yeah. And it’s, like, I don’t know. It looks pretty low as well. Low res. No, like, the wall is low. Oh, yeah. Like, she’s not, like, at the top of the wall. Yeah, true. Like, the fucking ground is just below her feet. That’s true. Which is kind of making fun of that, like, whole performative. Like, especially, like, climbing is this big. Yeah. It’s all over Instagram.

Yeah. Look at me climbing. Yeah, we’ve got a couple of funny photos of you and I and your dad climbing. Yeah, it’s totally, like, it’s auntie. And it’s a little bit ironic. All right, cool. Let’s get stuck in. Let’s look at some posts.

You can find us on Instagram at hungup.au. And you can find Louise on Instagram at louiseashcroft1. So, there’s, like, a, there’s a picture of a rock, like, in the Wikipedia, like, media part of the article. And it’s just called dickite.

What else have we got in this particular post? Asshole. It’s like another rock that’s called A-R-S-O-L-E. And then a molecule of vagina tin.

Snortites. Oh, gross. It’s stalactites, but they’re made of snot. Polonium monoxide is a chemical with the formula P-O-O. Poo. It’s, it’s, uh, butt jokes and poo jokes. And she’s got, like, her, the caption is, like, a little poem, like, summarizing all the pictures.

It’s like, dickite, arsehole, poo, pubicine, vaginatin, bastardane, constipatic acid, snotties, etc. Snortites. Snortites. Yeah, pubicine. Clever. Clever. This looks like it actually took quite a lot of research to, um, to get all this content.

Because, like, the dickite I could have gotten in an afternoon. But, like, pubicine and, like, vaginatin, those are, like, some rare fucking, um, CIA compounds that, like, you had to really dig around for, I think.

You want to read me this one? Okay, we got, like, a little MS Paint meme here. What’s the artist doing? And a caption. Artist punches dog to raise money for Battersea Dogs Home. Everyone starts punching dogs and artist wonders why. Where the fucking drawing is. His dog’s getting knocked out.

But they’re, like, so dumb and simple. Like, they’re all this brown squiggles. Like, barely dogs. They look like paper bags to me. And there’s this, like, comic book power line that’s, like, articulating the punch. Like, there’s Wiggle. Strange three-finger open-handed punch with, like, a glee, look of glee on the artist’s face.

Yeah, yeah. The artist is like, look at how well I’m done. Look at how many dogs I’m saving. So, running through her feed is this hashtag trashimation. It’s, like, animation and trash series. Which is, like, these little monster figurine dudes made out of, like, just, like, waste.

And, like, I don’t know. We think it’s, like, stuff you find at the landfill or something like that. Do you have a favorite one that you want to talk about? This one’s pretty cool, actually. This one’s really cool. I mean, they’ve got these, like, narratives and characters. And they’re just really wild and inventive. But the, like, kind of first visual premise is these kind of collage characters pasted on top of, like, just photos of, yeah, like, an industrial scene or, like, an office block or something.

Yeah. And we were saying off the mic earlier that, like, they’re really beautiful. And, like, these maybe are the hardest works to make of hers. Or maybe they took the longest. Because there’s so much detail and, like, all this cool texture stuff going on. And, I don’t know, these, like, funny captions to match and stuff like that.

Totally. Yeah. And what I also really like, just in terms of, like, you know, viewing this Instagram account as, you know, art or an artwork. Like, the memes and stuff are, like, art. But these trashimation series are really, like, they only exist on Instagram.

Right. So, there’s no, there was no gallery show putting these up. It’s, like, this is the artwork. You know what I mean? Yes. It’s fully realized in this format. So, like, if you’re at home, like, on this Instagram, you’re getting the same thing we’re getting. Yeah. I’m just laughing at my, you know what I mean?

Like, as if someone listening to this gets a chance to go, yeah, I know what you mean. I thought you were laughing at this. The one we’re talking over is this, like, fucking awesome, violent, like, trash monster. Yeah. I love this. His body is, like, a big green, like, packing palette. And he’s got these, like, big fangs and big, like, googly fried egg eyes.

And there’s all these, like, angry stink lines, like, wavering off him. I love this guy. Maybe we should print some up and add it to the hung up permanent collection. For sure. Yeah. There’s a really, like, a really unique and funny and kind of, like, almost apocalyptic language going on here in these trashimations.

I’m actually going to share one of these to our story right now. Cool. I’ve never actually looked at her stuff, like, up close before. I’ve just been, like, following casually on my phone. But we’re, like usual, we’re giving this a sort of a close seeing, too. Yes. But yeah, Louise is, like, is very funny. But I think, like, they’re very, like, clever internet funny.

And she’s, like, made her own, like, sense of humor. Like, carved out her own arty sense of humor within that. Totally. Yeah. And then I love this shit. Like, now we’re just looking at, like. Yeah. Like, pretty sincere selfie with her mom. Yeah. Very sweet. Love to my mom. Coolest, most supportive, creative tornado of fun and joy. Happy Mother’s Day.

And. With hundreds and thousands on top. That’s very cute. Like, in this case, like, this is, like, standard Instagram fare. Yeah. It’s, like, scrapbook of your life shit. Yeah. But somehow, like, am I imposing it? Or does somehow I feel like this fits, like, neatly within. Yeah. Her, like, wacky, crazy art vision. Yeah, this fits perfectly within.

Yeah. It’s, like, it’s so deadpan. Like, it’s just so deadpan. Like, it’s this cheesy grin with your mom. Like, you know. And she’s chosen not to separate her accounts. Yeah. Like, she’s not, like, my person and my art account. Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

Bill Gates. This is another one. Bill Gates was covering Star’s hours at the CAF, trying to put chips in everyone, while POP was overseeing strategic leadership KPIs for the cute couriers at Hermes. Wow. Her mom loves this one. Her mom’s, like, two fire emojis.

I love this Bill Gates. Like, he’s surrounded by, like, little cartons of Macca’s chips. Yeah. But they’re black. And they say, like, stealth. Yeah. They’ve been, like, rich people-ified. Like, that’s, like, the street wear version of Macca’s chips design. Like, very cool. And then there’s a bunch of, like, those recycling bins just hanging around.

And then another really tasty metal surface in the background. I love the composition of this one. Just a big circle that he’s kind of, like, a Truvian manning in. Yeah. And, like, his hair or his hat is also made out of fries. Yeah, true. And he himself is made out of, like, some kind of wood texture.

Pretty cool. What are his eyes made out of? She’s gotten the shape of his glasses down exactly. But, like, they’re made out of squashed cans or something. This stuff rocks. This is, like, the sad one. This is, like, a Marks and Spencer’s bag or something. And it says, this is not just food. Oh, yeah.

And then I can’t see what the other side is. This is… Food. Yeah, what do they say? You want to look it up? Sure.

Oh, this is not just food. This is M&S food. And then, like, in the bag is just, like, fucking weeks-old trash that’s just been fucking left there. So, I guess there is… I mean, there’s, like, a whole kind of, like, political leftist bent to her Instagram. Yeah, yeah, true. And then, like, her attitude that she’s kind of using this, like, yeah, humor and artfulness to navigate without, like, being in your face.

Yeah. But I think there is definitely this kind of, like, sad, capitalist, wasteful thing. Yeah. You know, in the aesthetics, right? True. She’s using, as, like, her palette, a lot of, like, industrial wasteland textures and, like, detritus just left over from stuff.

Business idea. Sex toys for your pets. That’s pretty cool.

Okay, let’s go to this one. Looking for an investor is the caption.

I love her fans. They’re super, like, they’re just, like, these, like, really polite comments. Louise, on the sex toys for your pets one, it’s, like, someone goes, Louise, your posts quite honestly never fail to cheer a day on. Smiley face. Fire emoji. Like, it’s very cute. Happy Valentine’s Day, sexy people.

Clever. Just, like, normal ass content. There’s, like, a lot of, like, just normie content in here. My snowman Sigmund Freud. Freud. Freud. That’s French for cold. Freud. That’s so funny. It’s still alive, but only just. She speaks French or something. Condolences, please.

Sigmund Freud. That’s so clever. Cool. Damn it. The fucking Valentine’s one is not normie content. What are you talking about? It’s not. Yeah, I guess this is not normie content. Screaming, like, looks like a woman having a mental breakdown is her face is being wedged

into, like, an MS Paint scribble. Fair enough. You’re like, this is standard content. This is just run-of-the-mill, generic. This is boring. I haven’t had my coffee yet.

This one is, like, yeah. See, she’s, like, just got, like, a recipe for this. Like, is this a real recipe? Like. Yeah. Avoid YouTube. Yeah, true. That’s a recipe. Yeah. Okay. Cool. One of the, like, things that we could talk about that’s coming up now is, like, this character of, like, Louise that this Instagram presents.

And, like, I’d say she’s more of a character than, you know, your average arty Instagram. Yeah. And what it does to have her kind of normal family shit in there. Yeah. Cool. Yeah. So, like, that’s actually really cool. Because, like, most of the time, when you go to an artist’s Instagram, their self, like,

their, their, the character that they, that they are on the page is, like, this deeply curated, like, cool, ice-cold art object as well. You know, like, and, like, there’s no, there’s no, like, cute, like, schlocky posts. Like, me and my mom, it’s Mother’s Day.

Like, happy birthday, mom, or whatever. You know, like, me and my girlfriend on Christmas, like, happy Christmas, weirdos. Like, they don’t really do that stuff. And if they do that level of emotionality, I’m speaking very broadly here, obviously, but, like, a lot of, a lot of the stuff I see, like, especially for, like, maybe, let’s say, younger artists, it’s, like, this is not allowed.

Like, you’re cheesy, like, grinning and, like, like, it’s, they’re not, like, super good photos or whatever, air quotes. Like, you know, they’re not, like, composed and, like, film photos. Yeah. Like, yeah. All I want for Christmas is pickled eggs. It’s like, this is, like… Or Twiglet has no idea how vile they are.

That fucking comment is stolen in the show. I love that. Have you ever tried pickled eggs? Yeah. Yeah. Do you like them? I’ve made them. Cool. Yeah. Damn. Damn. That’s so hot. Yeah. Yeah. This one is, like, a really, like, another deadpan meme, but it’s, like, it’s so deadpan.

Like, this is, like, truly savant deadpan. Like, it’s, like, in red text, like, super low effort meme. All I want for Christmas is you. And then the you is crossed out. And then at the bottom it says pickled eggs over a picture of a cat, like, just kind of nonchalantly looking at some pickled eggs from, like, Marks and Sparks or whatever.

It looks like her cat, right? Like, it looks like we’re in her kitchen. This is her cat. Yeah. Exactly. I think her cat Twiglet. Yeah. There’s, like, a cool, I don’t know, it’s, like, this handmade memeing quality that’s, like, all over her account. Totally. Yeah. Handmade. Yeah. Cool. Memes. Like, hand-stitched.

Yeah. Hand-stitched. Yeah. She’s, like, done a, um, who owns England by, like, square meters or whatever. She’s used a, um, like, a French cheese wooden case to, like, do the pie chart, which is kind of clever. Like, 30% aristocracy. You know, 8.5% public sector.

Crown Church charities. Only 5% homeowners. So, yeah, she’s, like, still kind of doing some kind of cool, like, very, um, elegant, like, just express, expressive, like, politics. Like, not necessarily, like, militant or, like, actionable politics. She’s just saying, like, by the way, 17% new money.

Actually, I don’t know if this is, I don’t think people talk about it in those terms, like, new money versus homeowners. Maybe I’m, like, maybe, maybe she just made all these numbers up. Maybe she, yeah. Like, how do you define aristocracy versus new money? She could well have. That would fit within her, like, the logic of this Instagram account. Yeah, yeah. But, like, I think this one is really, like, uh, what is it?

Like, uh, what’s the word when something’s, like, uh, exemplar? Yeah. This, like, post of, like, it’s, like, the brie and the pie chart is, like, a real exemplar for the kind of politics and humor. And I think that really feeds into, like, the reality of Instagram as a platform. It’s, like, you’re lying on your bed, you’re on the toilet, you’re scrolling.

Yeah. Like, can you really give us, like, a fucking huge block of very serious, like, text? Right, right. Like, can that be taken seriously? Sure. Like, the medium is the message kind of stuff? Yeah, sure. Is Instagram the space for, like, booming life or death political messaging? People seem to be posting a lot of, like, big paragraphs of text these days.

Like, sure. Like, I think, like, increasingly so. Yeah. Like, with every new, like, big political event that happens, like, for example, BLM, I saw, like, multiple, like, 10-page slides of text that I’m sure some people read, but, like, a lot of people just, like, you know, felt like they ought to agree with something and then, like, hit like or whatever. Yeah, yeah.

I mean- That’s me being cynical, maybe. But not even. Like, actually, like, I don’t think my point, like, I think, uh, why not? Like, why not read that on the toilet? Right. Like, you could. Yeah. Maybe that’s fine. Yeah. Like, there is certainly, like, a incredible flattening. And I guess with the way you follow people on Instagram, you can have, you have a feed of probably not super dissimilar people, but, like, you can have two very different things

right next to each other. Yeah, for sure. And, like, the way our brains are used to seeing things now, it’s not really a problem. Yeah. People will have, like, like, Bernie Sanders being dead serious. Yeah. And then, like, a ridiculous, like, horny meme page. Like, almost, almost not allowed on Instagram. Yeah. And then, like, yeah, like, some, like, far left, like, reactionary politics, like, like,

asking for you to burn down, like, the fucking office at the end of, like, the street. You know what I mean? Like, they’ll have, like, all of these different things, like, just smashed in on the same timeline.

What? Which is same length as Hitler’s. This is a drawing of a notebook, and it says, everyone hates you. Now you have bought this book, which is same length as Hitler’s leg. She’s like, in a caption, she’s like, I actually love it when personal development books proclaim empty marketing stuff, like, no, literally, steal, rip, eat, and excrete this book.

Here are some books that I haven’t written. So, here’s another one. Book for standing on to kiss slightly taller crush. Slash gran. Slash gran rocks. Books that hook onto your nostrils. And this book has two little hooks coming out of it, so you can read it, like, whilst you

cook or something.

Cool. Conceptual book written in toxic sleaze, sea sludge, sits on virtue signaling, 1,000 pound coffee table. Book that’s perfectly shaped for reading in a dark corner. As are all books, but this one has a better publicist. Eh, alright. Whatever. But, like, I don’t know, this, uh, what is it?

Like, now we’re playing with her, like, comedy. Like, she has so many avenues that she’s, like, exploring on this feed. Yeah. Like, little comic book artist. Yeah. I don’t know. These are just, like, um, Sharpie sketches on, like, notepad paper. Yes. That’s, like, ruled. You know, like, yeah. There’s so many gags, though. Like, this one, there’s a guy reading this one, and the book’s fucking massive, and he’s,

like, based inside the book. Yeah. True. It’s a huge book. And then the title is Pervy Spyhole. And then an eye book with incriminating title. Pervy Spyhole book. Yes. Great. That’s awesome.

She did some really cool metal work a little while ago. I was loving it. Like, oh, cool. Virus table. Ooh. Yeah, I love it. It’s, like, she’s, like, ground all these, like, beautiful spirally patterns into it. Just totally, like, like, yeah. It’s so pleasurable for me to look at this texture, because, like, I’ve absolutely destroyed

my brain, like, looking at, like, perfect constructed metal tables and shit on, like, YouTube. There’s so much about this, like, artisan ship stuff going around on YouTube right now. And this is, like, totally flying in the face of that. And it looks just beautiful. Like, these really cool spirals.

And, like, it makes no sense, this table. Like, you can’t really sit at it very nicely, you know? Yeah. And it’s kind of, like, the top is all bent out of shape already. Well, I love those snowflakes. Those snowflakes, yeah. They’re snowflakes, but they’re, like, in every way antagonizing, like, the shape and,

like, delicate, or not the shape. I mean, the shape is bang on, but, like, the weight, the color. They’re just these big, heavy, like, thudding, dripping, messy things. Yeah, cool. That it is, like, resisting snowflake-ness. Yeah, it’s cool. So this, like, combined with the previous post, like, gives you a really good idea of just the, like, spectrum of expression that she’s using, which is so cool.

It’s, like, what is left, if you sort of minus those two from each other, it’s just this, like, really cool, like, clever kind of, it’s just like a comedian’s mind. Like, but in this avenue, it’s, like, these sort of very clever, like, juxtapositions of ideas and, like, inversions of ideas and just so playful and light and, like, cool.

You know, that happens to be welding or, like, just drawing doesn’t super duper matter, I think, to that expression. A hundred percent, yeah.

We would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which this episode was recorded and pay our respects to their elders past and present. We extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples listening today.

Follow us at hungup.au on Instagram and follow Louise and check out her work at louiseashcroft1. Next week, we’re at Airspace Projects in Merrickville. See ya. See ya.

See ya.

Show notes

EPISODE 8 💻 ❄️ 🗑 🐶 This week we‘re in Matt’s room looking at @louiseashcroft1 on Instagram. Included themes: Instagram personas, #trashimation, selfies with your mum and hand-stitched memes.