Bone Necklages

During my first visit Chris also showed us his latest art creations which where draped over the bedroom cubboards which were necklages made of animal bones. Chris told about how he would source the sections of the Coles for cheap meet..eat his chicken and reuse the bones in his artworks and now also the necklages. He went quite in detail how to prepare the bones for use in the art. Which I wan't go into :-) The necklages were beaded together with string and shiny pearls in between. We used a variety of these amazing creations for the performance 'rumble in the jungle' where tribal drummers would wear them on their 'naked' bodies. They looked absolutely fantastic. At the spot Chris also give me a bone necklage and felllow artist Karin Smith a bone belt.  I remember Karin giving me the belt as soon as we left the appartment as she was upset by the use of animal bones but could see the beauty of it in the performance.

She also did not want to upset Chris by denying his gift. After we looked at some art we could use Chis made us a cup of tea served in lovely china cups with a tray full of cookies. He was a real gentleman. He told us lots of stories of Ireland..but most of all I remember of this first visit his love for his wife who had passed away...he showed us photos and I also remember there being an article about him and his wife in an Irish magazine. I do not remember what it was about..
One of the necklages was also featured in an article in the Manly Daily.

Sea Creatures for Illuminati Peformance 2003

In 2003 I asked Chris to be part of the Illuminati Festival and to have his art beautify the performances of 'The Electric Body' - a local art spectacle put on by a mix  of manly artists. With fellow Artist Karen Smith I visited Chris for the first time at his home to have a look at the artworks he had available for the peformances. His small one bedroom unit would be every artist lovers dream, every nook and cranny was stacked with artworks many covered with white sheets from the bedroom till the living room. I remember the excitement when Chris lifted the first sheet to show some of the creations. A scale of gorgeous underwater sea creatures where hidden there from the family of seahorses, till the dolphin and the sword fishes. They were decorated with beats, pebbles, necklages, bones, nails, small toys and other crazy found objects. They were charming and fascinating. As background Chris often used strong cardboard or cut out the animals of plywood. Most sea creatures were decorated on both sides and I could see them hanging from the ceilings like this gigantic mobile. I thought at that stage it would make a great public artwork somewhere in Manly. We ended up using a variety of the sea creatures for our underwater segment 'Sirens Calling' in the performance.

Bikes with Bling

I -Angela van Boxtel met Artist Chris Doherty for the first time when he was sitting with his decorated bikes full of bling and found objects in front of the Coles. He would sit there often with this artworks parked for all to see.

I stroke up a conversation with him because of the beauty and originality of his works. He told me how he decorated his bikes with found objects and bling bought from the Salvos & Vinnies stores. This was in around 2001. Over the last years Chris always complained how expensive 'bling' had become at the second hand stores. Which showed the interest of our society more towards recycling. For me personally I think Chris was ahead of his time with his artworks made with recycled elements. Chris also gave me his 'business card' which was his name and phonenumber printed on a piece of paper cut not needly with a scissor. He always would carry them with him and over the years I've received many and they stayed unchanged. NO change in design, no email, no website, no mobile. Just his name and his landline number.

Chris Doherty

Chris Doherty with fellow artist Rhian Nete-Jones in 2005
at Manly Art Gallery & Museum

 photo by Chris Parsons