Feature Article
BOOK REVIEW
The Mind and Times of Reg Mombassa
Author: Murray Waldren
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 9780732287894
Price: $75
Variously mentioned as Reg Mombassa aka Chris O'Doherty, or Chris O'Doherty aka Reg Mombassa, the opportunity to wander through the original wit of this artist, writer, musician and designer is not to be missed. Better known to a legion of fans as a founding member of the band Mental as Anything whose songs such as If You Leave Me Can I Come Too? and Too Many Times have infiltrated Australian culture, Chris O'Doherty is undeniably first and foremost an artist. The band, originally never planned as a serious foray into music, was formed in 1976 by fellow art students to play at National Art School parties in Sydney. Band members often devised names for each other which sounded exotic, but paired them with ordinary first names to extract maximum idiocy. Hence, Reg Mombassa was born.
'The Invisible Donkey,' charcoal and coloured pencil on paper by Chris O'Doherty. Private collection.
O'Doherty's eye for the absurd and unapologetic idealism has captured generations with irreverent, frequently macabre and always distinctive designs for the original Mambo label of clothing. He staged one of the largest solo shows in history when his characters such as Australian Jesus, Telegraph Pole Head, Pillar of the Community, Amp Head and Frankenstein McKangaroo were brought to life as enormous inflatable figures for the Sydney Olympic parade in 2000. His records were produced by Elvis Costello, and musicians such as Johnny Rotten and Crowded House sought his record cover designs.
The Mind and Times of Reg Mombassa is written by fellow writer and painter Murray Waldren, who admits both Chris and Martina O'Doherty patiently accepted the intrusion into their life and home with good humour. It appears the New Zealand-born former literary editor of The Australian literally lived and breathed his research into the book with fellow colleagues "Mombassa-ed to death", and a long-suffering family, "who treated obsessive ways with tolerance and, luckily, were still there when I resurfaced." The obsessiveness shows, as does the generosity of the O'Dohertys in over four-hundred pages, three-hundred artworks, together with a generous sprinkling of photographs and band memorabilia. As an additional bonus, the slip cover of the book also folds out to a poster image of a 1997 work, Landscape with Book-Learning, a self-portrait with a telling insight into his early life.
Too much generosity? Maybe, but fans will love the opportunity to delve behind the man behind the popular band, and artists will be intrigued about his early life, and how O'Doherty balanced music and art in a parallel universe. There are many anecdotes of youthful exuberance, punch-ups, drinking, and long days on the road, but through it all O'Doherty was forever drawing, in his own world, capturing fleeting moments of roadside scenes which he would later develop into completed works.
'Temptation in the Light Industrial Garden of Eden,' charcoal and coloured pencil on paper, 1998 by Chris O'Doherty. Private Collection.
Born in Auckland in 1951, Chris O'Doherty responded to the abject boredom of some of the many places his English migrant parents moved to by drawing and voraciously reading. Not all was lost in the innocence of carefree days in "a cocoon of imagination where mischief and adventure had comic-book filters." The dark side was drunkenness, melancholy, violence, of young men and boys hurting each other, and, by his own account O'Doherty was by no means a fighter. "It can be heaven and hell," he said. "A bit like living in Dylan Thomas' Under Milk Wood."
His father would have settled on being a handyman, but for his wife's ambition, and he became a builder of houses. Chris also began a life-long passion for houses - not for building them, but for drawing and painting them, capturing the first house his father built in 1974. He used a small family photograph of his mother and himself at the beach as the basis for an acrylic painting on masonite in 1975. "I sold it for $40 and 25 years later bought it back for $1100."
Chris fell into mucking about with music in the latter years of high school as many boys do. He played one gig with other budding musicians but somehow began drinking early in the day and arrived spectacularly drunk, needing to sit on a chair after a couple of songs, before collapsing unconscious on the stage. His parents lamented his future, his long hair and general dishevelled appearance, but while there was fun to have and mischief to make, Chris would continue to thumb his nose at convention.
The family moved to Sydney in 1969, with Chris continuing his drunken behaviour. His mother forced him to apply for work at an Ad agency. "I took along my few little drawings. They looked at them and when they finished laughing, said 'Oh, you should go to art school, there's no future for you here.'" He enrolled for the National Art School diploma where music again was a pastime. One thing was sure - nobody remembered too much of those heady days, "Of those who do remember, few admit to it."
'Block of Flats,' oil on canvas 1998 by Chris O'Doherty. Private collection.
When the idea of an agent was mentioned, alluding to the thought of being a serious band, O'Doherty and his cohorts remained true to maintaining their manic silliness in the name of fun. Halfway through his art course the 'Mentals' were taking up a great deal of his time. And then there was the cash, irresistible to someone on government handouts.
Fast forward past the heady days and O'Doherty's increasing artistic output prompted him to return to his roots as a full-time artist in 2000. His work is included in collections such as the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the National Gallery of Australia. He says he is inspired by the wind, semi-professional birthday clowns, heavy machinery and the behaviour of domestic animals. Released just before the festive season, The Mind and Times of Reg Mombassa will be a popular choice of Christmas gift for a wide audience.