Iso Rae

So I want to talk about the two main ones for you, the two women artists that were such an important influence for you.

So we're going to start with Iso Rae.

the Australian artist.

So whilst you were doing research about Tilda for the Mugbinder of Jericho, you found yourself at the Australian War Memorial and you came across the art of the Australian War artist, Iso Ray.

Who was she?

So Issa Rae was one of the many Australian female artists who left Australia to pursue her art in Europe.

And I don't know if anybody here went and saw the Dangerously Modern exhibition.

So that started in South Australia and then came to Sydney.

But the relationship slowly develops.

And it means that as they're working together and those hands almost touch, well, who is it who sees and notices that? Issa Rae.

Yeah, Issa Rae, the artist.

So the gaze of the artist is really important to the story as well, isn't it, Tim?

It is, and we hear more about Iso's painting because Iso is largely silent during the whole book.

Do Issa's paintings in real life, are they kind of about moments of longing or yearning?

Yeah.

What they are are really interesting moments of observation because where the official war artists looked at other things, you know, like the actual war front, Issa Rae as an unofficial documenter of the war includes things like Chinese and Indian war workers in the camp and at the wards and at the women who are working.