July 8 – September 1 – Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery, 2 Harakeke street, Riccarton , Christchurch, NZ ph (03) 341 6276
I am pleased to be exhibiting five of my “soul survival rocket stoves” in a group exhibition Transience at the invitation of the Morant Foundation
5 x soul survival rocket stoves / Zusters 2019
Ceramics is a medium I briefly explored in the early 80’s. The high point of which was a ceramic mural I made at what is now called Studio One – Tu Toi. I was employed full time for 8 months on a work scheme by ArtStation to do this with the help of Joy Glascow. At the time I was friends with Denis O’Connor and Peter Hawkesby who were interested in The California Clay Movement and had recently returned from a trip to California checking out the likes of Peter Voulkos who had broken away from the conventional ceramics of his day. I took to abstract expressionist ceramics like a duck taking to water. I mastered the difficult art of slip casting tiles before the relief of going to painting which in those days had the grace of fitting into a pile under my bed. I recently returned to clay doing a class with Margaret Ryley and became a member of the Canterbury Potters Association.
My soul survival rocket stoves were inspired by a boy scout rocket stove made out of a large fruit tin. You light a fire underneath and the smoke comes out the triangular holes. After the quakes and throwing away most of my broken kitchen pots, I find the fragility of clay terrifying and thrilling at the same time. I like the ensuring dialogue about survival and food as what we are cooking is essential to our planets long term survival.It’s about getting in touch with a simpler way of life that has a smaller environmental footprint. We humans are monopolising most of the earth’s resources and we’ve put nature on dialysis.
The ecological crisis we face is so obvious that it becomes easy – for some, strangely or frighteningly easy – to join the dots and see that everything is interconnected. This is the ecological thought – And the more we consider it, the more our world opens up.
Timothy Morton
Art New Zealand….
Thanks to William Dart and Don Abbott for including a portfolio of my earthquake digital montages in the autumn edition of Art New Zealand. Thank you Jenny Harper for the text and Kate Spenser and Kathleen Gallagher for inviting me to exhibit at the Transitional Cathedral in Christchurch February 2019 along with Rua Pick and Michael Armstrong
Well im very good art friends with Jude moore chisholm and i love your bricolage photography and would love to meet and chat. Im a figurative painter. Hoping you will maybe contact me for chats. Via Judith perhaps. Dont dismiss me until you perhaps see some of the work. Im trying to get a group show with Jude for 2020. Much respect. Lou.