A Contribution to the Culture.
Wallea Eaglehawk did not enter my world as an artist, but rather, as a vegan overlord (yes, you're still in the right place).
Living in a rural-regional town like Gympie meant that the six years I spent (past-tense) as a vegan entailed many trips to Brisbane for any opportunity to dine out and actually enjoy the experience. My first flight down to Melbourne was literally an overnight stay so that my boyfriend, also a vegan, and I could try Smith and Deli. The town of Nambour is by striking contrast 1708km closer, and so the news that a vegan deli was opening that close to home was big. Enter Wallea, the owner and operator of said deli, 'Deli Cats', and provider of vegan hotdogs close to home and close to my heart.
Wallea was active on our local vegan page, so that coupled with both her name and her very-mod, very-Lennon circular glasses-frames made her a notable character in my book. Years later, long post-veganism for me and post-Deli Cats for Wallea, we eventually met one another at an Arts festival West of the Gold Coast.
Wallea at the time was working for Creative Alliance (which, if you're an artist of any sort in South East Queensland, you definitely have heard of - they are beyond rad and do a lot of important work for our arts and culture). I was just post music festival execution, and was attending the conference to pitch our festival further afield. Wallea and I got to talking, and a year on, when life had changed all over again, we came together both in completely new capacities to create some beautiful content together: I, at the green new beginnings of Jazmyn Produces, and Wallea as author and CEO of Revolutionaries.
Wallea is currently deeply entwined in the journey of establishing her company, with a passionate young team on board and multiple high-quality publications already under her belt. Niche to some in the West despite being one of the biggest bands in the world, but nevertheless enthusiastically adored by their devoted fan-base, Wallea’s works center themselves within the realms of the BTS phenomenon: the iconic Korean boy-band who have penetrated Western fan bases, an assumed off-limits audience to so much of media produced across Asia.
Within her work as an author, and at the heart of her company, Wallea intertwines a social theory perspective with a darling romanticism, to explore and articulate limerence and the potential implications of the phenomenon. Wallea explained limerence to me as the experience of being devoutly enamoured with someone or something, but experiencing it as a one-sided affair. As I listened to her cite future plans about her writing and company, I adored the ways in which her work is so holistically built around this investigation, enabling the company to contribute an impactful and profound wealth of content to this sub-culture in years to come.
This is what sets Wallea apart: she is a CEO, an author and a scholar, but she is approaching her creation, her art, as an accumulative feat, set out across stretches of time to come. I can’t help but find something so relieving in the thought of stepping back from the immediacy of the impact of one’s art, especially in the climate of the ‘social media portfolio’, and taking a moment to perceive the collectivised efforts of our creative offerings once all is said and done. Wallea has articulated the links between her current works and the dozens of future titles already being mapped out in these moments. I’ve never thought about the links between a current work and future ones, but even without that awareness, the link will be present. To realise we as artists have a say in that link, in the total finale of our legacy, is empowering.
As someone who isn’t absorbed by BTS, I connect to Wallea and her work by way of being totally in awe of the structure of her company and her work, her passion, innovation and aptitude. If you like me enjoy having creators on your social feeds who inspire you by way of their work ethic and high-level output, Wallea is the one to follow next.
All photographs captured within a Jazmyn Produces X Wallea Eaglehawk Content Creation shoot.
Wallea Recommends
Instagram poetry that will change you (it changed me) — Brooke Solis @thebrookesolis
A YouTube channel that talks about how to dress better and the art of colour in a way that will change your perspective of fashion and beauty — AlexandrasGirlyTalk
A song that talks about toxic hustle culture, by the biggest band on earth — Dis-ease by BTS
Follow Wallea and find her further social links here.
