Ailsa Piper

Where were you born?

I was born at the bottom of the world, on the edge of a great ocean, in Perth; but before my eyes could focus, I was taken to a place in the red desert of the north called the Gascoyne. It is the place where I learned to love solitude and walking.

What themes are recurring in your work?

Adventuring! The importance of connection, and the need to walk our own roads. The struggle to live a “good” life – however we choose to frame that. The foibles of being human. Walking – as metaphor but also as a way of life. Stories – the way they shape our lives, whether they are our own myths or the stories of others. The stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, and how vital it is to be conscious of them. The imperative of living large and awake. Locating home – within and without self.

What have been the highlights of your career?

Feeling that the work I make—in whatever capacity—has moved and inspired people, and that it has encouraged them to expand.

What are you passionate about?

Living to our maximum creative potential – and breaking patterns. Actually, being sufficiently aware so that we don’t create patterns in the first place! I’m also committed to seeing the connections between us all on this crazy planet, and to practising gratitude.

Haven’t I seen you before?

Hmm. Were you a Neighbours tragic in the late nineties? Own up! Or maybe you were a theatregoer almost anywhere in Australia between 1980 and 2000. Or a walker around Melbourne’s bay, or Sydney’s harbour, or Tasmania’s Overland track, or on the Larapinta, or a camino road in Spain…

Anything else you’d like to share with us?

My mum used to say I walked before I crawled. I think that I’m still inclined to do that!