Andy Thomson

The work explores the relationship of culture to art and the possibilities and contingencies of objects and materials as signifiers and as mimetic triggers to the real. Its use of text is simple and direct in its attempt to elucidate the problem of supplementation, for example writing is a supplementation of speech. A train of thought is articulated through diverse and simple actions of making and contextualizing things in as many dimensions as possible.

Thomson was born and educated in England, at the North East London Polytechnic and London University, Goldsmiths, he currently lives and works in Auckland New Zealand. His work is allied to the logic and flatness of painting but can take any form. He has worked almost exclusively in collaborative practice for many years.

Monique Redmond

Flowers signify an event of sorts. A bouquet of cut flowers is itself an occasion, whether they are picked bought given or received; they are small exchanges, celebratory markers of other happenings. The simplicity of an arranged bouquet is in a single utterance, a spectacularly exquisite act. Encompassed by time their performance is like a live documentary. The experiential nature of a bunch of flowers, a flowering tree, a blossoming garden capture a gesture of time, of time spent and time short-lived. Suburban florists go about their every day, working towards the big event, looking forward to the time where blooms congregate on mass, transforming suburban site into exhibition space. The trees we pass on our daily circuits maintain a year round appearance; they are on permanent display. Once a year they bloom, and the suburban garden becomes a stage, the site where blooming events occur.

Curated by Laresa Kosloff

Apartment gallery

6/09/08 - 28/09/08
Opening Sat 6th Sept, 4 - 6pm
19/618 St. Kilda Rd. Melbourne
Open Sat & Sun, 1 - 5pm

The artist says: “In my fictive and mythical world a subterranean earth worshiping society endeavour to make links with nature in a world that is increasingly destroying the natural as it seeks to control it. Nature here is beautiful and dark, a dangerous spectacle of devourers and devoured, yet still the starting point for spiritual experience. Art history, popular culture, fact and fiction, fear and lust, growth, decay, past and present collide.”

Artist Richard Orjis exhibits at Stark White Gallery Until 20th September 2008

Suzette Jackson - The photography of Greenpeace

For decades environmental campaigners have used photography as a tool for their causes. Suzette Jackson, Communications Manager, Greenpeace, Aotearoa New Zealand gives an illustrated talk on the use of photography to record Greenpeace activities using images from their archives.

3pm Sunday 24th August at the Art Lounge, part of Auckland Art Gallery.

Artist’s talk - Ian Macdonald

Photographer and Photoforum member Ian Macdonald discusses his series of works taken of stranded sperm whales that occurred at Muriwai Beach during the late 70s.

Auckland Art Gallery, New Gallery - Admission free
Part of Earth Matters

Ian Macdonald
Whale Stranding at Muriwai Beach No.1
1975

The Trust Waikato Art Awards open tomorrow in the Waikato Museum. The exhibition/awards includes the work of Wellington photographer Andy Palmer as well as many other worthy contestants. Being in Dublin currently there’s no way I can attend personally so I’d love to hear people’s thoughts on the exhibition.

Image Credit: some came on time, some took a while by Andy Palmer

Opening at Satellite Gallery, 5.30pm Tuesday August 26th

The photographs in this new body of work from Harvey Benge are a departure from his usual take on cities and the urban landscape. Victory of the Trivial none-the-less continues Benge’s exploration into the nature of things and the signification to be found in the banal, the ordinary and the overlooked. Despite their apparent insignificance these disposable $2 objects seem to take on a life of their own and through his lens we find questions, narratives and meanings. Here Benge is commenting on systems of production, consumption and value and human-kinds ceaseless quest for fulfillment through desire. The victory of the trivial.

Satellite Gallery Cnr St Benedicts St & Newton Road, Auckland

I was recently sent the link to this collection of photographs by Tomislav Krpan of Taxi Drivers in Auckland. I thought it was an excellent set of images and hopefully we will be able to see them in exhibition in the future.

Reading Engadget recently turned up this interesting camera concept by Chueh Lee, a designer working for Samsung China. The idea is that a person can press the camera to their forehead and have the 3d screen providing image feedback to the photographer to aid composition. The camera also records a few seconds of sound to accompany each image to allow for easy cataloging later.

Ron Brownson has started posting on Outpost, the Auckland Art Gallery blog.

“My fortnightly posts will address photography, from both the past and the present. I’ll include photographs held in Auckland Art Gallery Toi o T?maki collections as well as other collections, both public and private. My aim is to open up some discussion about various practices of photography – here in New Zealand and elsewhere.” Read more here.

Harvey Benge will speak at Art Lounge in Auckland Art Gallery on Sunday 10th August at 1pm about his new book A Short History of Photography.

Photo Forum member Richard Smallfield will be exhibiting some of his landscape photography as part of the Pakiri to Matakana exhibition at Matakana Gallery and Design.