okay one more post before Christmas

Well, I thought that would be it for this year, but then, I was in the backyard, and I saw this!

Now aint that the most phallic flower you have ever seen!

Merry Christmas!!!

Whaingaroa

Well, seeing as it's Christmas (almost) and summer (I wish) for the next week or so I can't imagine my self spending a great amount of time on the computer. So here is the poster to my next lot of exhibitions. Please join me at the openings if you can, and feel free pass this on to friends. The file should be big enough to print a small one off even, however, please let me know if you'd like a real invite and I will send you one.

I have been trying to write a bit of a blurb about this work, so here it is...
The unique culture of small town Aotearoa, New Zealand has inspired me to explore its people, the symbols of our culture, and land that has defined us. Small town New Zealand is changing, in fact New Zealand is changing and this is strongly reflected in the shift of us now living in cities as the majority of us now do, where as not so long ago, the majority of us were from small towns and rural areas. While change is inevitable looking at who we are today, and where we have come from is an important part of understanding our culture. This work reflects this and is a conceptual and personal artistic exploration of a town that is slowly changing along with the rest of our country. This work glimpses at symbols of both the old, and at the new, and it reflects on our relation, our interaction, and our similarity to our surroundings. While based in Whaingaroa Raglan this work is as much a study of quintessential New Zealand as it is a study of the land and people of a specific town.

With these thoughts in mind, I feel like sharing something else. I love this country, I havn't seen the whole world, but I've seen a bit of it, parts of Australia, America, Canada, Rarotonga, Fiji, South Africa, Singapore etc and one thing that I always love about being here is my ability to have my own space. To be able to walk home at night by myself, to go for bush walks, and beach walks by my self. To sit by my self in the dusk light, enjoy this place and take the odd picture, to lie in bed and hear the crickets with my doors open at night and not be afraid. It seems that while a change has happend over a long period of time, and as our water became unsafe to drink out of the rivers, so too walking alone became more unsafe. But is seems over the last year, that this growth of lack of saftey has grown at a much greater speed. It has struck me I suppose since things have been happening much closer to home. In fact, a place where I was photographing only a week ago and have photograhed many times before in the evening and at dusk by myself was the scene of a rape a few days ago. Sure these things have happend for years, but try telling that to the girl that this happend to, and for sure it is becoming so much more commen. What can we do? I don't know, but we sure shouldn't accept is as the normal!

Well, it's a crap note to leave on for this time of year I suppose, but it's well worth thinking about. But still life needs to be lived, and I suppose that's it really, who knows what will happen to us, and when. So, here is one of my favorite quotes "the future is no time to place your better days"

Merry Christmas and a really awesome New Year!!!!

Aotearoa abstract

In and along these lines, of being a patriotic kiwi, I have been exploring some work along these lines. One of them being a type of abstract Aotearoa landscape... Most likely to be done in colour, but my first experiments were in black and white.

a bit of history

It is (apparently) important for an artist to have an intent, a style, and a message. It is important to realise your place in it all. So, in an attempt to summarise my artistic intent, I wrote this: "My aim as an artist is to explore the concepts of New Zealand history and culture through a study of self, the land, the people and the symbols of our existence."
Through some type of artistic self obsesion, many artists take/paint/expore the self portrait. I am no exception, and I'm sure you will come across many of these in the future on this blog. Not today though.

But, in an exploration of self, I always seem to dive into my childhood memories, and also photos of my parents/grandparents/greatgrandparents. I grew up on a farm, and I have 5 siblings of which I am the youngest. This seems to have shaped me greatly into the person I am today and into the artwork that I produce. Here are a few snaps of me as a youngster...





Being a kiwi is something I am very proud of. Films such as 'in my fathers den' and 'whalerider' are real tear jerkers for me when it comes to not only the artistic quality of the film, but also the 'kiwiness' of it. I feel so drawn to our history, and who we are today. This leads me to want to spend a lot of time working artisticly on the study of the culture of Aotearoa.

Here are some of my recent works in looking at just that.

at the pioneer cafe

"No colours except green and black the walls are green the sky is black (there is no roof) the stars are green the widow is green but her hair is black as black. The Widow sits on a high high chair the chair is green the seat is black the Widow's hair has a centre parting it is green on the left and on the right black. High as the sky the chair is green the seat is black the Widow's arm is long as death its skin is green the fingernails are long and sharp and black. Between the walls the children green the walls are green the Widow's arm comes snaking down the snake is green the children scream the fingernails are black they scratch the Widow's arm is hunting see the children run and scream the Widow's hand curls round them green and black. Now one by one the children mmff are stifled quiet the Widow's hand is lifting one by one the children green their blood is black unloosed by cutting fingernails it splashes black on the walls (of green) as one by one the curling hand lifts children high as sky the sky is black there are no stars the widow laughs her tongue is green but her teeth are black. And children torn in two in Widow's hands which rolling rolling halves of children shriek roll them into litle balls the balls are green the night is black. And in a corner Monkey and I (the walls green the shadows black) cowering crawling wide high walls green fading into black there is no roof and Widow's hand comes onebyone the children scream and mmff and little balls and hand and scream and mmff and splashing stains of black. Now only she and I and no more screams the Widow's hand comes hunting hunting the skin is green the nails are black towards the corner hunting hunting while we shrink closer into the corner our skin is green our fear is black and now the Hand comes reaching reaching and she my sister pushes me out out of the corner while she stays cowering staring the hand the nails are curling scream and mmff and splash of black and up into the high as sky laughing Widow tearing I am rolling into little balls the balls are green and out into the night the night is black..."

This is an excerpt out of Salman rushdie's book "midnight's children" I'm half way through it and it has bound me into it's amazing web of writing. The above writing is when the main character is in fevor, and it is strangly, frighentinly beautiful.

This is me, taken by a friend " Andy " see his blog on www.microphen.blogspot.com It was taken a few years ago, and I don't think it really looks much like me, which is probably why I like it I think, or maybe it looks like a younger different me that I don't know any more?

This is my art blog, I will share with myself, and whoever else takes the time to see it my work, thoughts and writings and also writing of those that inspire me. You will likely come across musial lyrics, book quotes, random thoughts, my own poety and stories, as well as my photography. I encourage you to see, as so many of us go through this world blind. So go on, take the time to observe, and to absorb, even those things that you find uncomfortable, or outside of your current beliefs or understanding... you may just learn something and become a better you... and I encourage you to share a comment on this blog too, so maybe I too can become a better me.


Jodi