About
Dr Ashley M Holmes
aka linkwize
Ashley Holmes is an academic and artist currently based at Mackay, in tropical Queensland, Australia. He is a senior lecturer in the Bachelor of Digital Media Studies program at CQUniversity Australia. He is also an active member of the Centre for Regional Advancement of Learning, Equity, Access & Participation (LEAP), which aims to achieve significant research and community impact through ‘engaged research’ as a key priority in four theme areas: equity, access and participation policy and practice; scholarship of learning and teaching; education, training and employment pathways; and, healthy communities and health education.
Ashley gained a BFA in photography and filmmaking in 1982 at the University of South Australia and was exhibiting nationally regularly until the demands of a young family pushed him into commercial design practice. He co-founded a successful design photography and production house, Imaginaction. This firm was at the forefront of digital production. Then in 1990 he was involved in the establishment of a new creative production house, Futurewell. This company was renowned for mentoring emerging indigenous talent. A highlight of this commercial period was appointment as preferred supplier to the Keating Office of Prime Minister, Committee for Reconciliation.
Around the turn of the millennium Ashley decided to re-qualify. He undertook a PhD in visual arts studio practice and relinquished his business holdings. He resumed exhibiting, with immediate international juried acceptance. The PhD was conferred in 2005 by which time he was well established in his new academic career.
Lens-based work has been at the heart of Ashley’s practice since he first cracked open an ‘instamatic cartridge’ in the darkroom of a New Zealand high school and tray developed its contents. He regularly exhibits new digital and interactive works that are mostly, but not always, lens-based. In 2010 he received a major commission for the Mackay Base Hospital Redevelopment Public Art Project. In 2015 he received a commission from La Luna Youth Arts in Townsville for a digital movie format artwork where he collaborated with scientists and gained access to the Australian Sea Simulator to collaborate on an artwork featuring the awe of coral spawning.
After maintaining the screen name linkwize in various emergent social media spaces for a decade, Ashley has launched the domain, linkwiztix.com to focus his online presence and networking activity.
Contact:
Email: a.holmes[at]cqu.edu.au