Introducing Mamamia's Voulez-Vous Project: Making the internet a little more beautiful.

Welcome to Mamamia’s new art endeavour, the Voulez-Vous Project.

It’s the latest brainchild of our Editor-in-Chief Jamila Rizvi and is being made possible by writer and passionate supporter of the arts, Melissa Wellham. And we’re more than a little excited about it.

Too often the internet and social media are derided for being a cesspit of meanness, where only the foolish, the disgusting or the dangerous is celebrated. And while we know that this can often be the case, the online world also has enormous power to draw attention to previously unrecognised beauty and ability.

Australia is home to some of the most phenomenal creative talent. Sadly, however, a community obsessed with the power of celebrity means that very few artists receive the attention they deserve. Most are struggling on little to no income, desperately clinging to a passion and a talent which isn’t being valued as it should in the commercial sphere.

Well, the Voulez-Vous Project is going to attempt to unearth some of that talent and grow some support from the wonderfully active Mamamia community for the talented artists in our midst.

The Voulez-Vous Project will be our own special corner of the internet where we will be celebrating emerging Australian artists, performers, designers, illustrators, creators, and women who knit out of their vagina. (Kidding. Maybe.)

Here’s how it will work. Each week we will introduce you to an Australian artist and their work. We won’t spend too much time talking about the ins-and-outs of how they do what they do or what it means (although we’ll give you the tools to find that out if you are interested). Instead, we’ll briefly tell you about the artist and then let their own creativity – their work – do the talking.

Unlike a boutique gallery opening, a local town hall concert or a small fashion show, an article on Mamamia has the potential to reach hundreds of thousands of Australians. And we want to give these wonderful local creatives that opportunity. It isn’t a competition, we’re not asking you to sign up, or to vote, or to buy something, or to do anything more than look and appreciate.

The aim? To make the internet a slightly more beautiful, thought-provoking place and to create a more meaningful dialogue about art in this country.

So without further ado, let’s kick off shall we?

This week’s artist is Zeke’s Lunchbox, a Sydney-based artist who creates every-type-of-media artworks, street art, accessories and more. The depth and breadth of her work defies categorisation, and could probably be best described as extraterrestrial, toxic-mutant character studies.

Zeke’s work has been exhibited at group shows, including ‘Art Wank’ at the Tate gallery and ‘Stay Fly Block Party’ at Ambush gallery, and at a solo show called Zci Fi Weird at Honkytonks in the ACT.

Like what you see? Head on over to the Zeke’s Lunchbox for more information, a browse and maybe even a sneaky purchase. You can do that by visiting the Zeke’s Lunchbox website or online shop. 

Do you know an artist who creates beautiful or challenging work, whom you think should be featured as part of the Voulez-Vous project? Send an email to info@mamamia.com.au.