KIRSTEN WILLIAMSON

IT'S a cold and drizzly day on the Sunshine Coast, water beads off the windscreens of the cars parked outside Kirsten’s house. The muffled bark of something large echoes down the path as I bang on the gate outside. I’m greeted by Kirsten, in double denim, dodging droplets of rain liberated by their collective weight on the leaves overhanging the garden path.

Kirsten works out of a spare room at her house, even on what is a fairly gloomy day, the light through the window is bright and soft. “As much as a I love it, I like to be able to close the door on it,” she admits.

A 1:1 scale drawing of Frank Sinatra’s Lamborghini Muria and a profile of James Hunts Helmet lean framed against the wall. “Art’s funny”, she muses. “One minute you think ‘oh I hate this’. You come back an hour later and you’re like ‘oh I love this.’ So, sharing is a challenge for me.”

The space is sparse. Framed black and white images discovered in her parent’s garage hang on the wall. A simple desk sits directly under the window with a handful of pencils arranged to the side.

A vertical stack of books collected on her European travels house images of icons and inspiration. Ralph Lauren, Paul Newman - Steve Mcqueen “He’s just so effortlessly cool.” In an old jar on the window sill grows a water plant, a gift from her best friend’s garden.

A holographic disco board peaks out from behind the Muria. Kirsten’s first tabletop workspace. “Bought it from Bunnings – I covered it in school contact paper and jazzed it up a bit. It also doubles as a dance floor on special occasions.”

Kirsten studied fashion after school and upon completing her degree, began working in a boutique. Kirsten constantly felt the urge to draw and had become despondent with the her chosen field. These days, Kirsten prefers Bertone over Benetton and Gandini over Gucci. “Car people are nice, down to earth. I haven’t met anyone unkind. Compared to fashion which, unfortunately, lives up to all its stereotypes.”

The catalyst for change came in 2015 after Kirsten visited the ‘Bond in Motion’ exhibition in Piccadilly, London. The exhibition featured a collection of James Bond cars from the films.

“Until that day, I had never really stopped and looked at the details of cars.” She explains.

“I remember sitting in front of the Aston Martin DB5 and seeing all of this detail - like an engraved cross hatch