Episode 8
Mischief
This playful solo bass clarinet piece captures the rare joy Maggie shared with her father, a bright thread of laughter and rough-and-tumble play in a childhood otherwise darkened by years of incestuous abuse by her brother and emotional cruelty from her mother.
Unlike the trauma-focused works in this series this composition celebrates mischief, warmth and the safety her father provided. Written subconsciously by dozens of Maggie's dissociated parts the music bursts with cheeky rhythms, rapid shifts in tempo and whimsical techniques like slapped tongue and grace notes all reflecting her fathers lighthearted spirit and their secret bond. Though composed without conscious intent the piece revealed a powerful truth upon listening, many of her parts still carry joy, humor and the memory of being truly seen.
Importantly Maggie challenges the common assumption that incest always involves a father. In her story her father was her refuge. “Mischief Do Sit Still” honors that complexity not all family is in danger and even in the deepest pain moments of love can endure.
NLM producer: Tanya Lee, Narrators: Susan and Peter O’Doherty and Producer: Zoe Carides
Susan O’Doherty | Artist
Susan O’Doherty is a contemporary Australian multidisciplinary artist, exhibiting for over 30 years. Her practice includes painting, mixed media construction, textiles, sculpture, video and photography, creating provocative, ironic, thought provoking and at times sinister works questioning gender roles and the portrayal of women in popular culture and history – identity, consumerism, violence and memory. O’Doherty was selected for the 8th Beijing International Art Biennale in 2019, also participating that year in the Art Central Hong Kong Art Fair. Susan has been a finalist in the Glover Art Prize, Portia Geach Memorial Award, Salon Des Refuses, Fisher’s Ghost Art Award, Redlands Art Award, Mosman Art Prize, the National Still Life Award and KAAF art prize. Her works are in the collections of the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, the City of Sydney, Smorgon Collection and Regional Art Galleries throughout NSW.
Her latest exhibition of paintings and sculptures ‘2 Girls and a Bomb’ explores the rapidly changing world we live in. The works are set in enclosed domestic environments, our safe and supposedly private spaces. With the threat of nuclear warfare, climate change and now AI rapidly changing the world, the work focuses on our interaction with technology, deep fakes and virtual reality; and the concerns, anxieties and uncertainty of what lies ahead.
Peter O’Doherty | Artist & Musician
Emigrating with his family from New Zealand to Australia in the late 1960’s, Peter O’Doherty has been painting since the early nineties and exhibiting regularly over the past 23 years in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and internationally in the America, England and New Zealand.
From 1977 – 2000 Peter was bass player, songwriter and singer in the band ‘Mental As Anything’. In the early 90’s Peter and his brother Reg Mombassa aka Chris O’Doherty started a new band ‘Dog Trumpet’. The band have just released their 9th album ‘Live Forever’ and are currently on the road touring.
Peter is also a visual artist, exhibiting for over 30 years in solo, group and regional gallery exhibitions. He has been hung in numerous art prizes including the Sulman and the Salon Des Refuses. He has won the Paddington Art Prize for landscape, the Alan Gamble Memorial Prize for the built environment and the Commendation Award at the Mosman Art Prize.