2012

Master of Fine Arts
Graduation Exhibition
Negotiating the Non-Place
Pearce Gallery, Parnell,
Auckland
Opening: 18th January 5.30pm
Exhibition: 19th - 22nd January

Art on Life
Group Exhibition
Academy Galleries, Wellington
Opening: 9th March 5.30pm
Exhibition: 10th March - 8th April

Workshops
Artists Studio, Mapua
March

Master of Fine Arts
Graduation Exhibition
Negotiating the Non-Place
Reflections Gallery, Nelson
Opening: 20th March 5.30pm
Exhibition: 21st March - 22nd April

Urban Wandering project
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
March/April

Solo Exhibition
Red Gallery, Nelson

Open Studio Event & Workshops
Artists Studio, Mapua
12th - 28th October

My art practice delves into the concepts of the non-place, urban wandering and translation.

the non-place
The non-place, a term coined by Marc Augé, is an anonymous and transitory space. Travelling is the mode of the non-place and wanderers like me spend more time transitioning through spaces rather than inhabiting specific places. These liminal spaces offer unexpected events, encourage change and restrain significant connections between users.

I explore the tension between the chaos of the crowd and the quiet of the individual in the non-place. The empty, private in-between spaces are highlighted; along with the unknown, the freedom and anonymity that the city and the canvas offer.

My works are an expression of urban space, wandering, and the state of being in the twenty-first century.

urban wandering
The urban wandering artist negotiates non-places to experience and understand the complexities of the global city. This act of psychogeography can highlight the negative qualities of globalisation and the artist has an important role as a social, cultural and historical commentator. The subjective experience of the artist as urban wanderer is two-fold, first in the space of the city and then in the space of the studio.

The temporary events in the dynamic and precarious space of the city street provides abundant motifs of twenty-first century life. Wandering the street is the best method I know to obtain a raw sensation of the space - positioning the artist in the flow of the crowd, and amongst the sights and sounds of the city.

The fast pace of modern life affects the act of wandering and the ability to access a city on foot. The artist as urban wanderer aims to reclaim the streets.
I find the acts of wandering and of painting to be exciting explorations into the hidden world of the in-between non-place.

translation
Obliteration is a key translation process. It creates opportunities for chance happenings to occur and offers a refreshing freedom to experiment with paint without the constraints of intention impinging on creativity.

Works evolve over time; during the making the paintings are in a constant transitional state. They shift and change day by day as layers of paint are formed, obliterated and reformed. Each layer of paint becomes another translation of the image, moving the work further and further away from illustration.

The creative sense of freedom which I experience in the studio reflects the dynamics between the chaos and the quiet, the individual and the crowd - as sensed on the city streets.

In January 2012, I will achieve my Master of Fine Arts from Whitecliffe College of Arts & Design in Auckland, New Zealand.