March 1st, 2025Artists of the Central Highlands

with Eve Lamb

Newstead artist Roger McKindley is known far and wide for his amazing Antares Iron Art Garden. Sprawling over a picturesque patch of riverside acreage, Antares contains the amazing sculptural creations of this  compulsively talented creative. Roger takes unloved, broken and discarded materials and transforms them into fantastic and quirky pieces of original art that captivate all who visit this special place. Antares Iron Art Garden  will soon open as part of the Newstead Open Studios art trail event held over March 7-10.  

Eve: This iron art garden of yours is pretty amazing. When did you start making it?  

Roger: Seventeen years ago.  

Eve: Can you tell me a bit about your creative process, how you go about creating  these unique sculptural pieces?  

Roger: When I find the materials it inspires me to think – ‘what can I do with  this?’ – I try and start the process the same day I’m taking it (the recycled materials) off the ute. It totally thrills me and once I get started on one thing something else  yells out ‘over here’ and it just takes off. I’ll still be working at night.

Eve: Some of these sculptures involve pretty hefty pieces of metal. It looks like a  fairly physical creative process.  

Roger: Yes. It can be. See that old boiler over there. I was carrying that on  the back of the ute and the police pulled me up and said ‘where’s the rope?’ and  I said…‘try to move it!’ (chuckles). See that propeller on it…that’s been on seven different things. Things have a life of their own.  

Eve: What are some of the materials that you use?  

Roger: Metal is my main one, but I’ll also use wood, stone, old glass, bricks.  Everything is recycled…I don’t like plastic. Some people donate materials. I’ll also  go out on little pilgrimages, searching. Most of the things I get are bent or broken so there’s an abundance of stuff everywhere.  

Eve: And you’re also very into art photography too aren’t you? I have seen some of  your photographs capturing some quite amazing fleeting scenes.  

Roger: Photography is my dream. Capturing moments. I put a lot of photos  up on Insta. I’ve had people beg me to hold an exhibition of my photos. I’m thinking about it.

Eve: How did you get into this practice of creating sculpture?  

Roger: In my 20s I lived at Golden Point at Chewton and I’d find things in  the bush. I was probably 27 when one day I found a lot of metal in the bush and  made my first metal sculpture and I haven’t stopped since. I’d make sculptures in  the bush and also on the beach as well and people would stop and say ‘that’s so  beautiful’. I love metal. I love shapes, and I love the abstract because you can read more than one thing into it.  

Eve: Can you tell me a bit about your working background?  

Roger: I started my gardening apprenticeship in the Castlemaine Botanical  Gardens. They were the best days of my life, although I didn’t know it at the time. They’d trust me and leave me to work in a part of the garden by myself and it  was just wonderful being trusted like that.

Then after I completed my gardening  apprenticeship I travelled up the east coast and met blokes making art and realised  ‘oh you can be a bloke and be into art as well’. That was in the 1980s.

I also went  to the Northern Territory but it was too hot for me there. I passed out twice in the heat. Now I still work in a couple of private gardens.  

Eve: Antares has featured on TV a couple of times hasn’t it?  

Roger: Yes. It’s been on ABC’s Gardening Australia and on Better Homes and  Gardens.  

Eve: And it’s about to be part of the Newstead Open Studios Art Trail long weekend in March.  

Roger: Yes. I’ve been involved in the Open Studios event for at least seven  years now. Karen Pierce and I were the two local studios who started it, and now all these amazing artists have come on board.

I also go in the Festival of Gardens  over the Melbourne Cup week. I’ve done that six times, and I’m also on Insta and  Facebook, and I open the garden up to people by appointment.  

Eve: How do you find having people visiting your art garden and roaming about?  

Roger: I enjoy sharing my art and lifestyle. I’m totally off-grid here. I have  different clubs visit – camera clubs, car clubs, garden clubs – and a lot of people  from overseas.

I’ve had all sorts of nationalities here. I love to hear the laughter  as they walk through. Some people are shocked…and I love seeing people come back.