Neil Dawson Exhibitions

Southern Gothic

8 Sept - 3 Oct 2018

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Artists

Exhibition Works

Storm, Mount Ida
Grahame Sydney Storm, Mount Ida (2018)
Clouded Moon
Grahame Sydney Clouded Moon (2018)
Irishman Creek
Grahame Sydney Irishman Creek (2018)
Saviour
Grahame Sydney Saviour (2018)
At the Gate
Lisa Reihana At the Gate (2018)
Arrival
Lisa Reihana Arrival (2018)
Passing
Lisa Reihana Passing (2018)
Mass Grave, Vaimoso
Yuki Kihara Mass Grave, Vaimoso (2013/14)
Invocation
Yuki Kihara Invocation (2016)
Huia Pair (Black) [22488]
Mike Crawford Huia Pair (Black) [22488] (2018)
Kererū (Black)
Mike Crawford Kererū (Black) (2018)
Kumete Manu (Black)
Mike Crawford Kumete Manu (Black) (2018)
Spirit
Neil Dawson Spirit (2014)
Phoenix
Neil Dawson Phoenix (2014-18)
Head with Candle
Jeffrey Harris Head with Candle (2002-18)
Head with Three Eyes
Jeffrey Harris Head with Three Eyes (2002-18)
Temple of Poetry
Terry Stringer Temple of Poetry (2010)
The Turn 8
Heather Straka The Turn 8 (2017)
By Appointment
Heather Straka By Appointment (2001)
Mila
Simon Richardson Mila (2015/16)
Eben Afloat
Simon Richardson Eben Afloat (2018)
Concrete Mixer
Simon Richardson Concrete Mixer (2018)
Burn Off
Simon Richardson Burn Off (2018)
Vault, Lovers Leap, Otago Peninsula
Ann Shelton Vault, Lovers Leap, Otago Peninsula (2003)
Chemistry, White Island, Former Sulphur Mine, New Zealand
Ann Shelton Chemistry, White Island, Former Sulphur Mine, New Zealand (2008)
Wairau Bar
Michael Hight Wairau Bar (2018)
Haast River
Michael Hight Haast River (2018)
Pack of Five (6)
W D Hammond Pack of Five (6) (1999)
C.V. Service
W D Hammond C.V. Service (1991)
Shelf Life, Collection Plate, Snuff Jars
W D Hammond Shelf Life, Collection Plate, Snuff Jars (1995)
Port Chalmers Chair
Ralph Hotere Port Chalmers Chair (1997)
Lo Negro Sobre Lo Oro
Ralph Hotere Lo Negro Sobre Lo Oro (1992)
Winter Solstice
Ralph Hotere Winter Solstice (1988)
The Kilmog
Jane Dodd The Kilmog (2018)
Swampy
Jane Dodd Swampy (2018)
Kapukataumahaka
Jane Dodd Kapukataumahaka (2018)
Cull
Jane Dodd Cull (2015)
Vipillar
Octavia Cook Vipillar (2017)
Snake Wolfing Bat
Octavia Cook Snake Wolfing Bat (2016)
Double Fake
Octavia Cook Double Fake (2018)
Solo
Octavia Cook Solo (2018)
Stolen Jewels
Octavia Cook Stolen Jewels (2018)
Little Blue
Jane Dodd Little Blue (2018)
Old Spot
Jane Dodd Old Spot (2018)

curators' introduction

 
 Curators Lisa Wilkie and Vanessa Jones provide an introduction to the exhibition, Southern Gothic.
 Video production: Ross Wilson
 

brief exhibition text

The Gothic of Aotearoa New Zealand does not feature ruined castles where ghostly spectres roam the corridors, nor vampiric noblemen who prey upon hapless maidens by moonlight. It is not the Gothic of the American South, set in a pestilent, suffocating Eden and peopled by the ghosts of slavery and brutality. In New Zealand we find the Gothic in landscapes suffused with dark and perilous beauty; we meet individuals whose suburban masks threaten to slip and reveal a haunted interior; we see how uneasy histories tear through the fabric of the present and fracture our fragile social boundaries. Our Gothic tradition hints at inner demons and buried anxieties that are sensed obliquely rather than seen in plain sight. (1)

The role of the Gothic is multiple: it can be used to scrutinise dominant socio-political narratives and it requires the viewer to look at how the past formed - and continues to inhabit - the present. For some, the Gothic is the evocation of a psychological atmosphere, an experience of the Romantic sublime where beauty and terror are two sides of the same coin. Others see Gothic elements as a way of expressing the ongoing tension involved in establishing a cultural identity in an environment that remains resolutely Other.

Southern Gothic considers how each selected artist uses subtle markers to express the unspoken atmosphere of the uncanny. The Gothic potential of portraiture and landscape painting, photography and sculpture can be glimpsed in the ways they disrupt our familiar, expected responses to each genre with tones of foreboding, unease, mythic import. (2) 

  1. Ian Conrich, “New Zealand Gothic”, in A New Companion to the Gothic, ed. David Punter, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, 2012, p 393-408.
  2. Timothy Jones, “The Gothic as a Practice: Gothic Studies, Genre and the Twentieth Century Gothic”, PhD thesis, Victoria University of Wellington, 2010.

full essay

 
 
 

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