ART PRACTICE -A brief history

In Art, subjectivity is the only truth an artist has to offer. What I mean by this statement is that if an artist thinks to draw a car and so goes out and actually draws a car –the dent in the bonnet, the sheen of the hood, the exterior rust of the grill etc… then they have lied to us. Photrealism for example merely caters to the now-defunct illusionism that kicked off with the Renaissance. Realism shows us how we (in the collective sense) see cars. What I am interested in is how I personally or anyone else thinks  of cars –children in their intuitive mark-making are naturally in tune with this way of working. So sticking with the car example I would always think of my idea of what a car is and then draw it how I have thought of it. To remain truthful a drawing should not have any superfluous elements and the reality of the physical world should be used only as a point of reference.

This naturally takes the form of a simplistic and almost child-like aesthetic. It is reinforced by the use of loaded imagery that would be familiar to any child. For example, Snakes, Factories and Prison Cells; as well as Neck-Ties and Atomic structures, Lightbulbs and Crowns –these all appear with frequency. I have been using them since 2002. They continue to incarnate themselves in different ways.  Some other symbols are very personalized and specific by their very definition; for example those of women wearing black dresses with stars on them –often she will be near a moon or have one for a head. Fish, floating in the air next to humans wearing deep sea diving masks in an otherwise ‘above sea’ environment. Human forms are abundant; and many can often be picked out with contorted appendages.  There is a visual poetry to use of many of these symbols– they contribute to each piece much like musical notes do to a song –lyrically.

I like to play with spatial relationships. In  fact, whether it is through the use of multiple perspective, choice of image, the use of black and white space, -the contrasting of empty and busy areas- or even through the repititious use of symbols that carry phallic and vulvic qualities; I am predominantly interested in unifying aesthetic and compositional elements within a work which could otherwise be considered in opposition.

A conflict of man and nature is one such example of this. A large amount of my imagery can easily be placed into either of these two camps. On nature's side; Flowers and Plants; Suns, Moons and Clouds; Rain and Snow; Trees and Tree Logs, Water and Mountains, Animals, Fish and Birds. Their use abounds.

I love nature. I come from a family of nature lovers and certainly in New Zealand, I grew up in the right country for it. Summer as a child was spent fishing and exploring vast terrains of rivers, lakes, beaches and forests. Our holidays were spent on or near landscapes relatively untouched by man's influence. It was very easy to form a natural respect for and connection with Nature.

Nature alone achieves perfection. Art in all its glorious forms is man's quest to compete with the perfection that nature achieves effortlessly. Humans are alone of all creatures that life flows through, that have separated from nature and live out of harmony with it. We've fucked it up. We think we are gods, the conquerors and creators of nature. We shit all over nature, we are arrogant enough to think that we are superior. Its like we've forgotten we are part of it. We have reached the end of our evolutional chain that is in accordance with nature and we haven’t been for a while. We are now evolving beyond nature’s interest –through computers, technology, science and genetics. Will there be a time when we exist only to service the machine -where our lives will revolve around their function? Is this time is already upon us?

Powerpoles, Signs and Signposts; Numbers, Factories and Chimneys puffing smoke. Production lines, Various towers and phallic constructions; Water carrying vessels; Power chords, Pipes and Cables. Cars and Roads. Man-made elements are juxtaposed against their more natural counterparts. Despite their contradictory relationship they are unified. They exist within each work in a unity that goes beyond all seperateness. From which nothing is spared. Its easy to do. Through a uniformed use of line; through a use of subtle repetition in the images and shapes of the work; in the compositional organisation chosen; and in the placement of each part in some sort of interconnected relationship with other parts. Nothing is isolated.

-MH.