The Marker by Gillian Dinh

For almost a decade I’ve been G/Gill of The Marker, a lettering artist from the ‘Gong with a passion for provoking deeper connections and conversations within ourselves, and others, through lettering art. The way I’ve been achieving this for years has been to cross sentiment with street art.

And now, my time has come to progress that passage way through the means of food. I’ve always had a strong connection with food; it’s been instilled within me from the very beginning watching my late-father, late-Nonna and my mumma all cook and provide the most delicious and generous servings in our household and beyond.

The crossover of my two worlds have come about in so many different ways—connection with people, an extension of myself, the passing on of tradition, culture and community, and ultimately, the ability to communicate through an art form.

Cue . Now, there’s a much longer story to this, but in short, I grew up watching the show, every season, since 2009! Any and every chance I get to sit down to watch tv whilst working, or late at night when I can’t sleep, I’ve always tuned into cooking shows. In particular though, I fell in love with how MasterChef encapsulates stories and dreams through food whilst still allowing space for people to interpret it in their own way, inspiring viewers to learn and dream.

Last year I applied for MasterChef out on a whim. I submitted my application at 11:59pm the night entries closed… a month later, I received a successful offer for cooking auditions, and then a further month beyond that, I received a phone call to say I was going to be a part of MasterChef Season 16, 2024 — to which I responded with, “shut the f**k up!”

And well, the rest as they say… is history.
As well as my 7 chins that are exposed on , available to stream until the end of time.

is where you’ll find my MasterChef and my culinary journey kicking off. But stick around here at , because I’m still hustling and lettering behind the screens. Soon enough, when the chaos simmers down a little—you will see my two worlds collide much more seamlessly.

As as usual, stay cool.
G x 👩🏽‍🍳👩🏽‍🎨

UOW graduate Gill Dinh shines on MasterChef From creative arts to Australia's most successful cooking competition.

Thank you for this super cool film shot of me at .

Matt used a Chamonix 4x5 view camera which takes images on 4x5 inch sheets of film negative. For my shot, he used Ilford FP4Plus, black and white negative film. The camera is entirely manual and is basically a light proof below system with the shutter and aperture housed in the lens.

You can tell the labour of love that went into these artist portrait shots. From the initial interaction, chatting to Matt about my work and his photography work, talking through the camera, the love for what we both do, to the end product. This is art. And this is why I love it so damn much. It’s not just about the end product, but it’s the work that goes into it, the connection to people and the choice of medium. Every element is important and has a purpose. Thanks again Matt, love it and love your work!

‘𝑻𝒐𝒐 𝑵𝒊𝒄𝒆’, my piece for Walk The Walls 2022 crosses Street Art with sentiment. I created with the intention that this rooftop mural would engage with people from start to finish, and beyond for years to come. Something that seems like such a simple reminder, yet so easily forgotten. Encouraging acts of kindness, whether it be big or small, they all add up.

Walk The Walls Festival was such an incredible experience! I’ve never felt more tested yet humbled in my life whilst painting. But honestly, props to Phibs for pulling this crew together because I’ve also never felt so included by such a large group of talented creatives and like-minded people. Truly an amazing festival to be a part of with so many people to thank from Tim / Phibs the curator, Jenn, Eliza, all the festival crew, Crockers Paint and Wallpaper Miranda/Sylvania, Sutherland Shire Council, all the amazingly talented artists that I had the pleasure of meeting and working alongside during WTW and of course my nearest and dearest for the support.

An extra special mention to everyone who anonymously submitted a kind gesture, because without you, this piece wouldn’t (and couldn’t) have been what it is. Thank you! Seeing the crowd come through over the weekend, reading all your submissions was so so special. Massive thanks to everyone who came to see us artists hard at work in Cronulla, and especially my loves who made the effort to visit and cook in the sun with me.

I hope you all enjoy this piece as much as I did creating it 💚 Remember, there’s no such thing as being “too nice”.

𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝑴𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 — for Kangaroo Valley

This was such a fun project as Brad, the owner of Terra Mare, gave me free creative rein to come up with a concept and design to modernise his pizzeria. The space was recently renovated after he took over the shop, and had green and terracotta tones. I played on this to compliment the palette and created a bold yet minimalistic piece to elevate the contemporary space. I really dig the poster art style! Thanks for putting your whole trust in me on this one Brad! 🍕

🚧 THIS WEEKEND // So keen to be on this stacked lineup for street art mural festival! I’ll be painting in Cronulla from Friday 9th — Sunday 11th December, so come around to catch me do my thang and check out all of the other incredible artists work their walls (see next slide for art trail map and epic list of artists)

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve collected anonymous submissions contributing to my wall art concept; pop by this weekend to see it in the making 👀🫢🤐

𝐁𝐀𝐃 𝐍𝐄𝐖𝐒 𝐆𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐘 —— Grand opening ✖️

Stoked to be exhibiting alongside some local baddies for grand opening group show.

OPENING NIGHT 6pm—9pm
Booze and shhhnacks
Thurs 8 September

Works will be on show for 2 weeks from the opening date 🤌🏽

✨ S E V E N — Y E A R S ✨
Today I celebrate another year in business, fk yeh!! Although the past 12 months have been a pretty weird and wild one for me personally, the fact I’m still here with The Marker and able to create for a living is something I’m so grateful and proud of. There’s so much I want for myself and this business that I’ve created (and somehow kept for 7 years!!!), but for now, I’m just taking in the successes so far and continuing to stay passionate and excited for what’s ahead. I appreciate every client, every message of support, all the engagement on here, and more importantly each and every person in my life that recognises and supports what I do and so much beyond that — I say this all the time, but I truly mean it, I would not be here with The Marker without you all. Whether you’re aware of it or not, you keep me motivated, inspired and allow me to do this for a living which is pretty wicked! Thanks lovers for another year of supporting The Marker, stay cool 🤍