The process of creating these artworks began with identifying both current and past employees. This was made possible through a mix of personal connections, recommendations, and the support of Arts Upper Hunter and AGL.

Todd then focused on scheduling and building rapport with the participants. Not many of the interviewees had been drawn by an artist before, so it was a learning process for Todd and the interviewees alike. Spending dedicated time, typically an hour, speaking with the workers allowed Todd to delve into their personal histories, attitudes, and connection to Liddell.

Sometimes they followed a clear interview structure, but some interviewees took the lead and told Todd what they wanted to share. During these conversations, Todd had to juggle mentally; taking notes, drawing, measuring proportions, keeping the subject comfortably chatting, and trying to find new aspects, angles, and perspectives.

At the end of the day, while the interviewee was still fresh in Todd’s mind, he would retire to the studio and, armed with his notes from the day, try to create a resolved exhibitable artwork. These works were completed on canvases created in a Branxton yard. The surface was a mix of pigments, inks, and paints, left out in the elements to give Todd a unique texture.

The final step of the process was more curatorial; reviewing the sound files, Todd pieced together a narrative across the whole body of work by sharing moments gathered in the interviews. Working with these, he tried to craft an experience for the viewer whereby viewing portraits and listening to selected moments from the interviews, the audience would understand a holistic Liddell experience.

Todd had nearly 30 hours of interviews, so culling this down to small, digestible sound bites was an exciting challenge for him.