ART AWARDS
These works were shortlisted for art awards 2018 - 2025
PUKE
"I walk in the rolling hills at the end of the Tawharanui Peninsula where I live one hour north of Auckland, New Zealand.
I always knew that something wonderful happens in your brain when you walk under a big sky.
I read recently that looking up to the sky releases dopamine : science explains what we know through our senses".
Shortlisted for the National Contemporary art award 2025
"We swam in rivers as kids - sometimes on horseback.
I remember the exhilaration of that still. In those days the rivers were clean and ran at their full capacity untouched by the fertiliser and irrigation which polute them these days:.
This work was shortlisted and sold at the 2022 National Contemporary art award.
From the water series.
AWA
AMBIGUOUS POSSIBLITIES
"The brain’s right hemisphere can deal with several ambiguous possibilities at once.
This ability is the essence of consciousness as it helps us see the world as it is-without pre-conception. With no right hemisphere we would be in a perpetual loop referencing our own pre-conceived notions".
Shortlisted for the NZPPA award in 2020
BLUE/YELLOW ABSTRACT
"I used gesture to make marks in blue which assumed the rhythm of written sentences : the patterning created an eloquence of some sort.
The Blue and yellow used in this work are complementary colours which create their own energy when used in close proximity to each other".
"Color makes its impact from contrasts rather than from its inherent qualities." - Monet.
Shortlisted for the Parkin art award in 2020
MAISON LA ROCHE
"After visiting « Maison la Roche » in Paris, in 2017 I investigated Le Corbusier and his architectural work further and found references to Vitruvius the Roman architect known for his theory of firmitas (strength), utilitas (functionality) and venustas (beauty).
I like the idea of essential beauty not being subject to the vagaries of fashion and that a timeless notion of beauty can be learnt from nature. Architecture is the art of organising space and it is the enduring correctness and purity of Maison la Roche in this context that I wanted to convey in this work".
Shortlisted for the Parkin art award in 2019.