TRANSFORMED ART SPACE INSIDE THE ARTIST’S HOUSE

Ana’s BIO

Ana’s passion is all about art, fashion and design. Inspiration to the past, to more present, with photography as the record to this tale. Found objects to quirky additions make up her set design. All collides as one, this is Ana’s way.

Altering clothing and other treasures from second hand stores into unique headpieces to attire is her addiction, it’s all about detail, textures and new additions of quirky appeal.

Ana is inspired by Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice In Wonderland’, to illustrations of Audrey Beardsley. Down darker paths, The work of artist Edward Keinholz blows her mind to ‘Sleep No More’ in New York. ‘The McKittrick Hotel’ is a 6-story pub, never opened to the public due to the onset of World War 11, converted into theatrical experience, basically a haunted house for grown-ups.

Ana studied Fine Arts and Visual Communications at both Tafe and uni and worked professionally in the fields related, however a short course in millinery, changed Ana’s path with a Marie Antoinette twist. Making attire from scratch to reworking vintage clothes and found objects into something new. Ana’s love of styling and photography, become a daily ritual when pregnant, as severe nerve pain took hold. Ana’s drug was dressing up one of her mannequins ‘Magenta’ with a dark aesthetic, drawing on architecture and clothing, to all that nature presents.

An alternative parallel reality is what the artist Edward Keinholz showed the onlooker with his artworks. This is Ana’s aim and on from here. Ana’s nostalgia to the past, is engrained within her works, embodied in each vintage find, fractures of living in a dystopian society, with as much beauty as decay. All is undefined. As per one of Ana’s artworks ‘Intermission, Fly with Me’ via it’s description, ‘The future is most accurate on a fortune cookie.’

In Ana’s studio space, Ana draws on and has reinvented her own wonderland. Artworks, such as ‘The Dolls House’ with real choko vines, miniature chandeliers, as well as sharing the space with beheaded vintage Barbie’s throughout, is sprawling with new activity, with details galore.

Ana volunteers at the Hawkesbury Remakery when moments in time arise. Thanks to Liz, two new vintage mannequin friends, named Marilyn and Mercy are at The Lair. All the mannequins, so Ana is told, are overjoyed to the new set design catered for ‘Blade Runner’ photo styled shoots.

Ana is wearing the ‘Full Throttle Bat’ headpiece. A reworked gold crown, a plastic bat sticking through the original centrepiece, a tribal necklace, cut up fabric shopping bags and a small bouquet of red plastic roses. Also the main frame was something Ana had since her early 20’s or late teens. Made from cane with black cotton thread sowed on haphazardly around the edges.

Ana Miller has worked for high profile companies, as a photographer, graphic and set designer for theatre, film, TV & events. Highlights include:-

• Art Director for the short film ‘Prada Handbag’, directed by Stuart Vauvert (which won the Audience Award at the Mardi Gras Film Festival in 2007).
• Production Designer for ‘Emergence’ a multimedia production, at the Sydney Opera House and the Canberra Street Theatre in 2007.
• ‘Peek Show’ – Art on The Rocks, Arthouse Film Festival (Producer, Director, Production Designer, co Costume Designer) in 2006

Past works exhibited include:-

• Cstudios Gallery – ‘All Together’ art exhibition (Newcastle) – September 2023
• Art Street 2023 – Street art exhibition, shop allocation with
  Anglicare Katoomba
• Hawkesbury Remakery, October 22 to June 2023
• The Purple Noon Gallery – Waking Dreamland, opened by Daniel Browning (from ABC’s Radio National)
 September 2020.
• UTS, Visual Communications – Exhibition, end of year 2005
• Meadowbank TAFE, Fine Arts Diploma – Exhibition, end of year 2002