Southern Gothie, Confabulation, Spirit-ture-ality

What:
Southern Gothie by Tony Bishop
Confabulation by Fionnaigh Mckenzie
Spirit-ture-ality by Mick Gentle

When:
Thursday 3 –16th July 2003

Where:
ROAR! gallery 22 Vivian Street, Wellington.

Southern Gothie

I paint because I have to; it calms me down during periods of hyper mania and lifts me out of despair. My subject matter is a fondly remembered rural nostalgia tinged with occasional excursions into the darker aspects of human endeavour. There is a strong narrative element in my work. I think it imperative that we record our stories and give form to the pictures of our lives.

Tony Bishop

Confabulation

Confabulation, n. 1: An informal conversation. 2: A plausible but imagined memory that fills in gaps in what is remembered. 3: The intermingling of art and poetry, memory and imagination, reflection and conversation.

This exhibition is a conversation an interaction between different mediums, and also between my experiences and your responses. Perhaps this is also an imagined memory, an attempt to fill in the gaps created by mental illness and sexual abuse. Perhaps my artworks and poems are a way of filling the dark spaces with hope and beauty.

Fionnaigh Mckenzie

Spirit-ture-ality (spirituality + truth)

This body of work draws inspiration from Native American Indian Culture, and in particular their holistic understanding of health and medicine. He finds himself drawn to the practice Shamanism, and frequently during meditation visualises his next artistic project. The ‘medicine wheels’ in this exhibition come from ancient Native American practice, but has a double function for Mick, who says: “ I use painting to heal me.”

Mick Gentle

End Contact: Melissa Young Phone 385 7602

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