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Critique And The Inner Critic with Col Mac

May 11, 2026 · 43 min

Show notes

This week I'm talking to Col Mac, a Brisbane-based interdisciplinary artist whose practice is grounded in painting but regularly extends into text, sculpture, and installation. His work explores time, place, memory, and history. Col has been a finalist in the Archibald Prize and the Brisbane Portrait Prize, with work featured in The New York Times and the Washington Post.


In this conversation we're focused on critique; the different forms it's taken across Col's practice, from design briefs and university critique sessions, to the regular group he's kept going with artist friends since graduating, to the more public feedback loop of prize entries and outdoor projections. We get into what happens when you action too much feedback at once, how to filter voices without shutting them out, and why a second set of eyes sometimes surfaces something in your work that you couldn't yet name yourself.


Find Col Mac here on instagram and here on his website. 

You can find the podcast here on Instagram & here on substack


Thanks so much for listening! Feel free to rate, review & share if you enjoyed it, this helps other people find the show

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