It’s been a Leonardo’s helicopter since I took myself on an art date. I'm moving house and was long overdue for a creative treat. So when I heard Jake Moss talking with Dru on ArtAche the other day - Episode 13, 13 March, which you can catch up on here:

ArtAche on 4ZZZ: https://4zzz.org.au/program/artache/2026-03-13%2009:00:00 - 

I knew his show Hollywoodridge and me were the perfect match!

I was listening to the Zeds totally enthralled by Jake's full circle story about his private school shame... and a long unfinished train journey to his childhood home of Woodridge.

He painted a rich verbal tapestry of multilayered artistic catharsis as, in black tie with loved ones aboard an artistically hijacked train (I mean who wouldn’t want to ride an artistically hijacked train), he finally rode the Beenleigh line all the way to his actual stop at Woodridge... instead of bailing at a more socially acceptable earlier stop. I'm thinking Runcorn or Altandi but can’t remember exactly where he used to get off.

It sounds a bit suss but I found myself sobbing triumphantly at the radio, fist in the air — “Ooooohhhh, Jake fiiiiinally got off at Woodridge!” — as I simultaneously wished I'd gotten a golden ticket to ride the Jake gallery train too.

So I hadn’t even been to the show, and I was already transported! The scene was set for my weekend art date. Timed like a well‑planned train timetable (tho not Translink obviously), my visit coincided with his artist's talk on Saturday 11th of April.

Jake is a Brisbane‑based artist and filmmaker and works with painting, sculpture, video, AND installation. So a quadruple threat basically! The guy can do it all. What a legend.

His childhood was spent in Woodridge where he lived in housing commission for over a decade. He was raised in two separate households by his father, an ex‑police officer who he clearly adored, and his mother, who for a few years managed a brothel and seemed to have choreographed much of his childhood trauma.

So it is no surprise that his current show Hollywoodridge is also a rich audio‑visual tapestry of multilayered artistic catharsis.

It is deeply personal and tragic in many ways but also full of colour, life, humour, reflection, love... and ultimately hope.

Jake is an extremely down‑to‑earth and humble guy, who seems to have seen enough of life to have grown from it but not so much to have become bitter.

The show includes:

• vivid trophyesque mask‑like sculptures

• lots of interesting painting surfaces, creative treatments and canvas dissections

• a range of styles from quite naïve and colourful to a more realistic, graphic, monotone or block‑colour storyboard/comic‑strip vibe

• a meticulously made sculptural “box office”, presenting a cardboard diorama of his office and an amusing double entendre hinting at his filmmaking and time working at Video Ezy

• audio‑visual elements of his experiences shown on a range of retro devices

• 16 amusing/messed‑up pop‑art twists on Woodridge‑themed DVD covers for fantasy shows like Undercover Crackhead, The Biggest Boozer and The Real Housewives of Woodridge  

• Jake even painted his sponsors’ logos on a large white bed sheet — or was that parody? I don’t know!? I think I'm in a meta loop

• and finally, I got really nostalgic at his pop take on the classic polypropylene neighbourhood‑map kids’ play rug; much like the one my son drove his cars on as a little boy in New Farm around the same time.

Some things are the same in every Brisbane suburb. And some things aren’t — as Jake explores through this beautifully emotive socio‑economic audio‑visual essay.

All together these intriguing and eclectic works help manifest Jake's Woodridge — or rather Hollywoodridge — world‑building. Putting the glam in the ghetto. All stops to Woodridge hey Jake?! Good onya mate.

Jake Moss and Woodridge have both come a long way and I look forward to exploring the next iteration of his fascinating, complex and reflective world.

Thanks enormously for the fun/traumatic pop‑art date Jake — essential viewing for the world‑weary mind and soul!!

So if you need an art date too, pop down to Mitchell Fine Art Gallery in Arthur St, Fortitude Valley, before the end of April to catch Hollywoodridge.

Please note the exhibition at Mitchell Fine Art is now over but you can check out the upcoming 'UNBOUND' by Odessa Mahony-deVries (on till May 16 2026)

Exhibition info: https://mitchellfineartgallery.com/collections/jake-moss

If you wanna check out his films or follow his work: Jake’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jakemossdotnet  

Exhibition post: https://www.instagram.com/p/DXc7ZszkyaZ/

And finally, you can catch up on his fantastic interview from 13 March with Dru on the ArtAche page at 4zzz.org.au - be sure to catch that amazing train‑art‑gallery story and find out so much more about his expressive work and intimate backstory.

Thanks for joining me on my art date everyone!

Words and Imagery By Elisa Mish Fraser