Together, they learned to sell art through unconventional channels like Shopify.
“Art, in my opinion, still to this day, is the last unregulated industry,” she said.
“There’s no rules, there’s no right or wrong. It’s subjective.”
The Kanye moment and beyond.
One of CJ’s most famous early sales was to Kanye West, a hyperrealistic drawing of a dollar bill featuring the rapper’s face.
The transaction happened backstage in Brisbane, just minutes before Kanye’s performance.
“He was shorter than I thought. He was so kind, and he was very intentional,” CJ recalled.
“This was at the beginning of my career, and I think there was an element of validation.”
But perhaps CJ’s most brilliant moment came from turning a legal setback into a global phenomenon.
When the Andy Warhol Foundation sent a cease-and-desist letter about her T-shirt designs, she created the legendary Copyright Infringement scavenger hunt, dropping red boxes containing the banned T-shirts around cities worldwide.
During her conversation on No Filter, CJ made a spontaneous announcement: “Why don’t I just say, yeah, f*** it. We’ll do it next year. How about that? Just for Australia.”
CJ and Lewis have mastered balancing creativity with family life. Image: Supplied.