Robert Habel and Cole Larsen

In the picture: Robert Habel (L) and Cole Larsen (R)
Filmmaker Cole Larsen and painter Robert Habel met in Launceston, Tasmania in the early 1980s. They connected over a shared love of athletics, art, film, punk music and the Collingwood Football Club. They moved to South Australia in December 1988, where Cole pursued studies in film making and Robert studied visual art. They have worked together making art since the mid 1990s and have a particular interest in urban and industrial landscapes and how people relate to these contemporary environments. They collaborate in painting, filmmaking, and moving image works for galleries and public spaces. Recent collaborations have included exhibitions at Singapore’s Sculpture Square, Adelaide’s Flinders Art Museum and Cairns’ Tanks Arts Centre. Cole is currently putting final touches to his first feature film, ‘Double Happiness Uranium’, which features scenes filmed at RiAus. Cole directed this film and Robert was the production designer. Cole is currently a lecturer in screen studies at Flinders University and Robert works in community mental health at Uniting Care Wesley Port Adelaide. Upcoming projects include an exhibition and film screening titled ‘Palmer Double Happiness’ at the Murray Bridge Regional Gallery in December.

Cole and Robert’s collaborative work was featured in the RiAus exhibition, Energy Landscapes: the new frontier