2012

Peters Doig Marlborough Art Awards
Yealands Estate Marlborough Gallery
204 High Street, Blenheim
19 May - 17 June

Radio Interview
Arts on Sunday, National Programme
20 May
Between 12pm - 4pm

Affective Landscapes Conference
University of Derby, UK
25 - 26 May
Presenting a Paper on the Non-Place

Clifton Art Prize Exhibition
Wellington
21 May - 27 June

Solo Exhibition
Black Asterisk Gallery, Auckland
14 - 27 June

Presentation
Mckee Gallery
Nelson Suter Art Society
7.30pm, 11th July

New Zealand Art Show
Wellington
2 - 5 August

Art Expo
Auckland Grammer School
7 - 9 September

Solo Exhibition
Red Gallery, Nelson
7 - 28 September

Ruby Coast Arts Festival
Tutoring workshops
26-27th October

MFA Graduation
Auckland
30 November

I am a painter working in Ruby Bay, New Zealand. My style has evolved from landscapes to contemporary expressions of the urban experience. I have recently completed a Master of Fine Arts Degree at Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design in Auckland.

I am represented by galleries in Auckland and Nelson, and have works in private collections across New Zealand and in Singapore, Los Angeles and Sydney.

My art is intertwined with my love of travel and wandering global cities, the reflective space of the studio and the exciting process of painting.

In particular I am investigating 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.

I hope you will view my online galleries, read my blog and share my journey as an urban wanderer and painter.