My name is Melanie Thewlis
I'm an artist, activist, and programmer recently returned to living in Australia after eight years in Germany and Poland.
I'm passionate about a range of social justice and environmental issues, but particularly intersectional feminism, climate justice, Indigenous land rights, and resisting surveillance capitalism. I've worked with various organisations on issues ranging from refugee education through resisting forced marriage to mapping gentrification.
Over the last few years my interactive installation work has focused on using gamification techniques to encourage playful, collaborative, and creative self expression in public space. More recently I've become interested in expanding those techniques to create unsettling experiences, explore power relationships, and generate empathy. I also want to develop an open source toolkit for others to use to create similar installations.
I also enjoy making beautiful things! Right now I'm learning to process video with machine learning techniques to turn faces into flowers, and also how to sew.
On the skills side, I can code in HTML/CSS/JavaScript, Processing, vvvv, PHP, and Java. I make videos, and can work with Adobe After Effects, Premier, Photoshop, Illustrator, and Media Encoder. I'm an illustrator and a painter, and I've also worked with Arduino, wearable electronics, laser cutting, digital mapping, and data visualisation.
I teach workshops in creative coding and front-end web development at both university and beginner levels. I hold a Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) and a Bachelor of Science (Creative Computing). I speak English, German, and a drop of Polish.
I'm very open to new collaborations! Get in touch if you would like to work together.