Humans Of The Wheatbelt

I live in Beverley which is about thirty kilometres south of York. We have been here for over 8 years and I believe it was a great move for Kate and me. Before that, we were living in Marangaroo which is north of Morley in Perth. I grew up in Glen Forrest in the hills and just loved the hills. I don’t enjoy living on the flatlands – I like living with bumps. I enjoy the style of life we have and the pace of how things move along. It’s relaxing. I like knowing the people who live around me. People are friendlier in Beverley and generally easier to relate to, especially other artists. We really look forward to the Beverley Art Prize every year, as there are literally hundreds of artists who enter.

As an artist, I find metal objects and make sculptures too. I enjoy going into the outback goldfields in WA in the middle of nowhere and finding metal that I can use. There are many different angles in mine shafts, for example vertical, horizontal and forty-five degrees. I don’t go down because I don’t have the rescue equipment. I look around the site and look where people used to live and where they would have put their rubbish. Those living in the early mining centres were amazing recyclers.  

It’s all about finding metal objects that have the shape, texture and balance that call to me. Texture - provided by the years plus how nature and weather’s influence. Balance – less is more in my sculptures, like the desert. And then my pieces are used to tell a story.

At the moment I want to do a three-dimensional mandala piece representing our last two trips away. We came back with buckets of material and I just want to use them all to describe the three different sites we went to.

It’s hard as an artist that after you have put your body and soul into creating something, you may sell it. Sometimes I’m happy to sell but I also do like to keep things. Eventually, I would like to have enough pieces to have a solo exhibition. The sculptures that I’m making now are selling but the older things I have are liked but they are just too expensive.

Doing the sculptures over the years has really helped my mental health. The very first sculpture I ever made at the age of twenty-five is in the gallery and I will never sell it. It reminds me of where I have been and where I am now. Always remember where you started.

Sometimes it’s hard to get going – ideally, I have three sculptures going on at the same time. It gives me an opportunity to really think about where I want them to go and what they mean to me.

I was a mechanical fitter apprentice at the Midland Railway Workshops, as was my Dad before me. Metal is in my blood. I have learnt so much. The railway workshops were like working in a museum in so many ways. When the Workshops closed, there was an opportunity for former workers to add their names to a memory brick wall. Dad and I both have our names there.  

We have set up a Gallery in Beverley. In fact, it was originally a real estate agent’s office where we signed the paperwork for our first house. We bought the building eighteen months later which I then renovated it over the next four and a half years, with my trusted friend, Gary. After we opened the Gallery, we found we were spending so much time there that we decided to build a house behind the building. We love living here in the centre of town. It’s just perfect. It’s small and just right.

We found out after we moved here that my grandfather and grandmother had actually been married in Beverley in 1925. On 4 September; this is also my birthday in 1955. We discovered my mother was born in Pingelly and two of her siblings – an older brother and younger sister - were born in Beverley. I think we must have been destined to be here.

I have been married twice before and have four children. But unfortunately for many reasons, it never worked out and I don’t have any involvement with my children now. This has had a huge impact on my mental health over the years. I’m a grandfather now. It’s very difficult. Too many years have passed.

My wife has three kids – in fact, her daughter decided to take my last name, which was so amazing. She said that not many people get to choose their father but she chose me. It’s lovely. There have been lots of great moments in my life and living here in Beverley suits my sense of well being. There have been a few moments in my life that have not been good. I have been reckless with my life and luckily survived.

I entered the Avon Descent once with a canoe. I made it to the last checkpoint and pulled out at Guildford because of my very painful wrists. It was a long hard slog but I’m so glad I did it. It was a great adrenalin rush.

I was a volunteer at Avondale Machinery Museum for a year or so, where they house ancient tractors. It was great. I would start and drive a little D2 caterpillar tractor. I once did a three sixty and tore up the mud a bit. I just love old machines. Playing in scrap yards, doing my apprenticeship in the railways, working and travelling in the Goldfields over thirty years have all fed my passion. Now that we live next to the train line, I can hear the different types of locos every day.

My father was a marine engineer on the tugs up in Port Hedland. I was the only mechanical fitter at the Port Hedland hospital. My accommodation was the Green House right at the entry to the harbour so I could then wave to my dad on the tug boats. I have really loved the Pilbara from that time. The colour of the soil is something you never forget and it gets into everything. 

My advice would be - life is an adventure. Enjoy your life and see things for yourself. Things do happen that cause ups and downs and this has impacted my mental health over many years. Find a trusted doctor or a soul mate or a group and don’t give up. Sometimes I have needed a helping hand to keep the Black Dog at bay. And try and keep your sense of humour as life can be just too serious!  

Human – Michael Sofoulis 

Photographer & Interviewer – Anna Cornish