Tai Snaith is a 28 year old artist from Melbourne, Australia, who utilizes books as a canvas for painting lovely animals.
Do you have any ideas as to where you’ll be taking your artwork?

Well I finished art school a few years ago and now I take my artwork lots of places. Next year I have a residency in Japan which is exciting. I also send my artwork via post to lots of different places and swap with or sell it to lots of people so it travels beyond just me. Othwerwise, more figuratively speaking, I can see myself taking my work further in installation and exhibitions and maybe making an
actual book (instead of just drawing on them) in the next couple of years.

How long have you been creating artwork on books?

I have been doing it onto book covers for the past year, but using books in general (like the insides) since before I can remember. I just really love that books have so much character. I love to imagine someone dragging it around in their life, reading it in the park and on the tram or maybe with a cup of tea in their special chair every afternoon. As objects, hardcover books are very sentimental. I
like to add another layer to this and play with ideas of personal history, found history and misplaced narratives.

Where do you find the books you use as canvas?

I recently inherited a whole shed of them from my Nanna. Most of them belonged to my great grandmother and father and some even older. There was a bible in there from 1825 (which is a long time ago for white
Australians!). I also find them in op shops and garage sales.

Why do you mainly use animals as your subjects?

I love the raw emotion in animals and the idea of instinct (ie. fight or flight). I also really love the tradition of anthropomorphizing animals; ie. making them do things like humans. This used to happen a
lot in old fairy tales and kids books. I also grew up on a farm with lots of animals and feel very close to them.

What inspires you?

I am inspired by found bits and pieces usually; old books, found letters, bits of paper, images of animals, animal documentaries. I also find a lot of inspiration in hearing stories of other peoples
lives, especially women. At the moment I am trying to bring the two inspirations together- researching how animals are used as symbols in human religion (like shinto) and also how people and animals might
share similar instincts and ideas in times of trouble, like how we might deal with the end of the world.

You can find more of Tai’s work on her personal site - taisnaith.com or on her Flickr.

Every Friday internet jogging features an artist, series or something special Chelsee finds while scouring the white, pink and blue treasure trove. We call this the Friday Flickr Feature.