I've been thinking about the sun lately : a painterly exploration of place, time and ecology : an exegesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Massey University, Wellington New Zealand

Abstract

This Exegesis discusses a range of painterly and sculptural installations that inform and explore time, sunlight, ecology and the importance of place. I use abstraction and post minimalism’s emphasis on materiality, site and colour as a method of making, thinking and inquiring. This project is openly precarious and intentionally focused on subtleties. I am interested in translating the critical and often poetic experience of living on the South Coast of Te Whanganui-a-Tara, in Tapu Te Ranga, Island Bay into forms that open a greater understanding and awareness of place, mindset, and behaviour. It is grounded in the spaces I occupy: observing and analysing the nuanced and changing conditions of place, in light of the climate crisis. These installations are located in relation to other artists, writers, poets, and philosophers, finding a common thread of environmental concerns, and an awareness of self, place and time. While importantly exploring art and writing as a way of understanding and connecting sustainably and consciously to our immediate surroundings.