Daniel Betham- What would I do without you

Daniel Betham

This is the first opening I had been to in a long time, I get a bit nervous about going to shows by myself and drink the free wine too fast then leave.

I was lucky to meet a lovely lady named Laura Scheper at the opening, also a practicing artist (see 98 Limes) she was in Wellington for a few days. We talked about the works, and the art scene in Wellington, and Gisborne (she is from the US), and how lovely New Zealanders are. This made me feel like realise I was 100% the reason for New Zealanders having a reputation of loveliness. In that packed out pulsating space we also talked about meeting strangers and having great conversations with the leg of a white plastic chair poking you in the back of the head.

Faux paaaaas, I just admitted to touching the art… I feel like since I have a BFA I’m allowed to touch all the art anyway, “No it’s ok, I’ve done this before, I can touch this, I won’t drop it on its head or anything.” ‘Actually can you just stop leaning on that Ron Mueck sculpture Miss’. But really how else was I going to get a clear picture with the shutter speed that low?

My favourite work in Daniel Betham’s show was the video work of the deck chairs sticking out of a tennis court fence, gyrating, gathering momentum, snapping falling bristling deck-chair-hair it was awesome. If anyone ever went in the Life Education van with Harold and Barbara, this work reminded me of when she made us line up facing each other and pelvic thrust inwards so that we were an oesophagus. It was awkwardly sexual, even at seven years old you don’t want to be thrusting at your classmates (Austin Powers hadn’t made it funny yet).

Daniel is a Massey graduate, like these artists that showed at Enjoy last week. I think I get his work, have you ever watched sport whilst really high? I haven’t, but I can only imagine it would reveal how obscene rugby players look bashing each other with incredible brute animalistic strength, wrestling man meat on man meat.

Anyone know who won the rugby?

Lucy Hughes

Lucy Hughes
Lavender Mauve
Lambda print with oil paint
890 x 890 mm
2012

Did anyone else have sheets like this as a child? Aside from the ones with the happy mouse on them, these were my favourite. Candy pastel stripes, flannelette, almost made you want to go to bed.

Hughes’ work is archival, I really can’t get use to this last name thing especially when it ends with ‘s’, never quite got that. I spend hours looking through old family photographs whenever I go home home. The way these are cropped, faded, impressions of the originals, painted back in to to subtly is just beautiful. Talking to the artists sister, she would refer to each work in reference to the original photograph, something the average viewer is not able to do.  The walls of 30 Upstairs may be gallery stark winter white but numerous rooms, comfortable sofas and chairs and views of rain soaked streets just outside gives it a homely, lived-in feel.

Lucy Hughes
Five Snapshot Backs and One Snapshot Front, 1963 – 1969
Untitled II
Inkjet print on Epson Enhanced Matt 190 gsm paper
153 x 110 cm
Edition of 5
2010

Seeing these works close up is something special, fibrous to the point of becoming flattened Friesians, the photographs look more like prints, and are hung un-framed from pins on the wall. Orientation isn’t important because online they are displayed up the opposite way 🙂 I thought that they were silhouettes, faces and bodies removed and blacked out, they almost are. If you’ve ever ripped photos out of your parent’s albums you’ll be able to recognise the glue smears, black chalky paper fibres and red Kodak stamps on the front/reverse.

Come and buy these works, they are fairly cheap and really stunning. I’m excited to see more from Lucy Hughes, who was also the 2011 Glaister Ennor Graduate Art Award winner. She graduated from Elam in 2012with an MFA, its so good to see recent graduates (and talented ones) getting such good exposure. Thanks 30 Upstairs!

147 Cuba Street

Fiona Pardington
Seaweed & Lemons
Inkjet print on hahnemule cotton rag
Edition of 10
2012

Suite treats on level 2 with Fiona Pardington’s velvety vanitas, Flora Fauna. They would compliment the interior of my dark dewy Wellington flat, complete with it’s own rotting fruit bowl.  There is an almost scopophilic pleasure derived from looking at these overripe fruits, fermenting, dripping sugar, glistening and round. Eat your heart out Calendar Girls.

Go and see this show and lap it up, go twice, put a deposit down on this one for me.

Down on level one at Enjoy On The Count of Three! is showing three video works by Manukau Institute of Technology graduates Candice Stock, Jeremy Leatinu’u and tanya Ruka, curated by Rebecca Hobbs and Richard Orjis.

Candice Stock -Are you with me?

My favourite thing about Enjoy is that they show video works! Covers 2009, by Jeremy Leatinu’u really resonated with me. How obscene it was to watch culture as commodity being pimped between packed tables of Palangi’s, arms out-stretched squinting concentrated through a digi-cam LCD screen at this wonderful spectacle. I’ve got a good camera. Yeah, its got a setting for fireworks and its pink. Fuck off.

Candice Stock is a total babe, her dress ups are enviable gorgeous colour coordinated 80’s synth Bowie dance wonders. I would love to see more of her work, and be in it, around it, have it all over my face.