Reg Mombassa

Reg Mombassa is a contemporary New Zealand-born Australian artist, designer, and musician. Mombassa has had a prominent musical career in bands (the most well-known being Mental as Anything), but he is best known for his stylized paintings and designs for the Australian surf wear company Mambo Graphics, which he started working with in 1986. He started exhibiting his original paintings, prints and drawing in 1975.

Along with his cartoonish style, Mombassa also paints more traditional depictions of the Australian landscape. The artist’s work is fuelled by an eclectic mashup of subject-matter, including “the wind, semi-professional birthday clowns, heavy machinery and the behaviour of domestic animals”.

Born Christopher O’Doherty on August 14, 1951 in Auckland, New Zealand, Mombassa studied at the National Art School in Darlinghurst, Australia, earning his BFA in painting in 1977. He has exhibited at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the National Gallery of Australia. The artist currently lives and works in Sydney, Australia.