This was published 9 years ago
Reg Mombassa admits it hasn't been easy staying young and edgy
By Sonia Harford
After 30 years, will the beer trees and farting dogs of Mambo defy middle age? Or are love handles appearing around Australia's most notorious surfwear brand?
Artist Reg Mombassa admits it hasn't been easy staying young and edgy.
"Young boys' uncles and fathers were wearing the loud shirts at barbecues, and it was obviously appearing uncool for a lot of young men, so there might have been a bit of a backlash," he suggests.
Yet for many who buy the bold, brassy T-shirts, Mambo appeals precisely because it bridges generations. The lush and lascivious graphics also leap the gap between high art and commercial production. This week an exhibition of iconic designs from Mambo's 30-year history opens at the National Gallery of Victoria.
Reg Mombasa at Mambo headquarters in Sydney. Mombasa and Mambo are the focus of an exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria, marking the 40th anniversary of the surfwear label.Credit: Kate Geraghty
A very fancy Frenchman's work is showing elsewhere in this venerable institution, and countless Old Masters; but Mombassa, one of the label's original artists, reckons Mambo art sits comfortably at the NGV. One can contemplate Jean Paul Gaultier's suave striped T-shirts, or Mombassa's unhinged native animals.
"I've always liked the idea of art being available to all people, not just being an upper middle-class elitist interest. More people go to the public galleries now then ever before … and having stuff on T-shirts, board shorts and posters is really great because it gets out there to the public."
Mombassa is generally called the godfather of Mambo, yet he emphasises many of the most recognisable designs emerged from artists such as Richard Allan (the flatulent dog), Maria Kozic, Jeff Raglus and many others.
The label was founded by Dare Jennings, a Sydney beachboy bored with existing surfwear adorned with bland company logos. As he invited surfers, artists and assorted friends to develop witty and often political designs (including a "Rednecks" matchbox caricature of Pauline Hanson) Mambo became a global business that has since been sold several times.
In the work of Mombassa and others, the Australian vernacular merged with American comics and tribal imagery to create an eye-popping realm of block colour, cheeky text and often adolescent gags.
Mombassa's "Australian Jesus" is a favourite motif of his.
"I'm not religious, but religion and history interest me as subject matter apart from the standard dick and bum jokes, local pop culture references, the local landscape and buildings like the harbour bridge and opera house.
"The Mambo artists appealed to people because it was about Australian pop culture – celebrating it and mocking it at the same time."
Another Mombassa original that draws a chuckle is his inspired "Beer Tree", its lush foliage heavy with the tinned "fruit".
"There was a kangaroo and a koala sleeping on the grass … it was loosely based on Breughel's Wheat Harvest. He's the Flemish painter and in his picture the peasants are lying asleep after drinking beer after the harvest."
The reference of course points to the art at the heart of Mombassa's career.
Originally famous as part of the jaunty band Mental as Anything, he has always pursued a parallel art career, even while still playing music with his brother in Dog Trumpet.
Next week in Melbourne, more of his work will crackle and pop on the walls, in a solo show Hallucinatory Anthropomorphism, featuring landscapes and a new series of drawings about Paul Kelly songs.
Mambo: 30 years of Shelf-Indulgence is at NGV Australia from 6 December to 22 February, 2015.
The solo show Hallucinatory Anthropomorphism is at fortyfivedownstairs from 9-20 December.