ABOUT REG MOMBASSA
He’s got cult status in Australia with fans including Elton John and Ewan McGregor — please welcome musician, songwriter, poet and artist, Reg Mombassa. His designs, ‘Animal Tree’ and ‘Barbeque’, are the latest to join our Artist Series lineup, bringing his less-than-ordinary style and energy to our Original bottles. Scroll on to get a surreal snapshot into Reg’s weird and wonderful world.
“Speak quietly and don’t carry a stick” — that’s Reg Mombassa's mantra for life. Also: “rough enough is good enough.” Wise words indeed from a man that’s reached cult status in Australia; a national treasure, in fact. Despite his fame, Reg opts for a surprisingly down-to-earth creative studio. “It’s an attic space in an old terrace house in inner city Sydney, with a pull down ladder,” he tells us. “The ladder is my way of getting into that space — but it’s also become my exercise machine.”
Reg’s soundtrack of choice in the studio? “I tend to listen to talk back radio or classical music as songs can distract me.”
What’s Reg’s favourite thing about being an artist? “Getting to use the talent gifted to me by the universe and genetic inheritance,” he says. Plus, for a rebel like him, “not having to work for someone else,” is also important.
And proudest accomplishment? “Apart from producing three wonderful children,” Reg says, “probably the stages, props, inflatable sculptures and athletes’ shirts I designed for the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics in 2000.”
So how does he embrace a Reusable Way of Living? “Nothing spectacular,” he says. “We recycle, use reusable bags, drive a hybrid vehicle, reduce our protein, and buy organic and free range products when available.”
And we wonder, where does Reg imagine people taking his Chilly’s bottles? “To the beach and theatre and also on the bus, in the car and on rocket trips,” he tells us. “Perhaps to the moon when such journeys become feasible.” That would be pretty cool – then his designs really would be out of this world!
Animal Tree & Barbeque
“Animal Tree is a music-themed image originally designed for an Italian music festival called No Borders.”
“Barbeque is my favourite — it combines some of my recurring themes and interests like the landscape, the old style antipodean suburban house and the modified local domestic and wild creatures that often feature in my pictures.”
