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Asa child,ourfamilyholidayswerealwaysto...wesailed
toLizardIsland(1)everyyearinOctober.Becausewelivedonthe
boat,gettingoutfromeachportandontotheislandswasalwaysan
adventure;mylifealwaysseemedlikea bitofa holiday.
NowifI havetimefora shortbreak,I headstraightto...
Hobart(2).It’ssoeasytogettofromanywhere.I justgallery-hopand
wanderthetown– it’sa placethatresetsmymindandinspiresme.
Tassiealwaysfeelslikea break– galleries,ciderandamazingnature.
Mylocal’stipforByronBayis...getinearlybeforethetraffic.
NotriptoByron(3)is completewithoutdoingthewalkuptothe
lighthouseandaroundtheCapeByronStateConservationArea;try
todoit atsunriseorsunset.‘Cheerup,slowdown,chillout’– I think
that’sthesignasyoudriveintotown.
Mysouvenirofchoiceis...somethingfroma vintagestore.
I lovecollectingthingsona tripbecauseit downloadstheeventsof
thetripintothatobject.
Mygreatesttravelmemoryis...travellingthroughIndia(4).
Thefood,thelight,thepeople– it justactivatesyou.
I’mdyingtovisit...Sicily– it’snextonthelist.
MyfavouriteplacetodineinAustraliais...SalsaBar&
Grill,PortDouglas.I recommendyoutrythelinguinepeperoncino
(5);I alwaysaskthemtoaddbokchoy.I lovetheviewoverthepark
andthegreatlocalvibe.
WhenI’montheroad...I listentoa lotofCostesbyHotelCostes
(6),a curatedplaylistoniTunes– theyupdatetheirlistseverymonth.
I lovelisteningtomusicI haveneverheard.WhenI’montheroadit
heightenstheexperienceandthesongscanrecallmemories.
Mycarry-onisusuallyfilledwith...cameragear,interiors
magazinesanda newdrawingbook(7).
Whenitcomestomyart,I aminspiredby...peopleandenergy.
I liketothinkthatmywork(8)is channelledthroughmeandis
influencedbyexperiences– that’swhyit’ssoimportanttotravel.
To view Jai’s artwork and for information on upcoming exhibitions head to
his website jaivasicek.com. You can also shop his collection in his Byron Bay
store, Ahoy Trader, or online at ahoytrader.comRaised on a 60-foot YACHT for the fi rst 14 years
of his life, self-professed ‘sea gypsy’ Jai Vasicek isa
true GLOBAL citizen. Now settled in Byron Bay,
the insanely talented Australian ARTIST chats
about how TR AVEL inspires his creative process.
JAI VASICEK
INTERVIEW: MEGAN ARKINSTALL. PHOTOGRAPHY: ELISE HASSEY (BYRON BAY); EDWINA HART (INDIA)8CULTURE |Walkabout
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