Shane Cotton and Anthony Byrt: a decade of conversations behind their new book

Painter Shane Cotton and writer Anthony Byrt talk about their book, a mix of history, biography and personal storytelling rather than a conventional art monograph. Byrt quotes his line that Cotton has been walking backwards into his own future for over 30 years. The two met in Brisbane in 2013 and spent the next decade in conversation, including at Cotton's studio in Palmerston North. Cotton grew up in Upper Hutt, drove trucks for his dad, and then went to art school in Christchurch, to the surprise of his family. He talks about his recurring image of preserved heads, and says there is something unsettled about them.