Graziher: Life on the Land Podcast

Julia Roche: part of a new generation of artists in regional Australia.

Oct. 10, 2021

The land has a deep and enduring effect on today’s guest. Julia Roche is an artist who lives on her family’s farm outside Wagga Wagga, in the heart of the Riverina in New South Wales.

Ju is part of a new generation of artists coming from regional Australia.

To stand in front of Ju’s large, abstract landscapes is to bear witness to her inner world. Her paintings are evocative, visceral, layered and incredibly expressive. When not painting in her age-old woolshed studio – Ju has been painting outside and by moonlight, really distilling her pieces into what she can hear, smell, feel and taste, rather than relying on eyesight and aesthetics alone.

In this conversation we talk about Julia’s practise, how she has balanced commercial viability with her creativity and how she works from a place of abundance rather than scarcity. We also talk about disability and inclusivity in the art world, and Julia’s personal and working relationship with her vibrant older sister Jackie - who is also an artist, and who has Down Syndrome.

The magical bond of sisters: Jacqui Meyers and Julia RochE

Oct. 17, 2021

This week, Life on the Land sounds a little different and is a first for us.

Last episode, we spoke to Ju Roche, an artist living on a farm outside Wagga Wagga. Ju and Emily Herbert chatted about her painting process and how the land plays an integral part in her conceptual practise, sometimes painting outside under the moonlight. They also spoke about her family and in particular, her relationship with her artist sister Jacqui Meyers.

Ju spoke about Jacqui in such an infectious way that we just had to have her on the podcast…. Jacqui is Ju’s older sister, she has Down Syndrome and was idolised by Ju as a child – Julia says she used to follow Jac around like a bad smell. These days Jacqui is an artist, a wife and a brilliant Aunty. For today’s podcast, the sisters sat down in Jacqui’s home in Wagga, hitting record over a cuppa and meandering down memory lane.