Landscapes both absorbing and intimidating

Phillipa Finch in action for the Canterbury Tactix. Photo from Getty Images.

"Preview 2008", Temple Gallery, Dunedin.

Temple Gallery is showcasing a comprehensive collection of works by artists from around the South Island.

This project, touring both Dunedin and Christchurch, brings together submissions from artists from tertiary art institutions, Ngai Tahu artists and recent graduates.

There is no common theme determining the nature of the work.

As such it is a rich assembly of styles and media, encompassing painting, sculpture, print-making, photography and mixed-media works.

There are 40 artists participating in preview 2008.

As a result it is impossible to fully discuss all facets of the exhibition here.

There is, however, definitely something for everyone and several works stand out as particularly interesting and fresh.

Aroha Novak's Baby Battalion is a quirky and humorous work, consisting of three delicate pastel-coloured war tanks made of knitted wool.

Untitled (Finch in Nest) is a stunning photograph by Michaela Cox, depicting in intense clarity a close-up view of a bird, and creating both a sense of unnatural isolation and beauty.

Another favourite is Kerry Tunstall's Outside In, Inside Out, a fascinating mixed-media work using exploded wine and condensed copper gas among other materials to create a mesmerising, cloud-like form on paper.

Overall this exhibition is a must-see example of new and emerging artistic talent with a diverse range of themes and styles.

Chanelle Carrick"A Cache of Talismans", Megan Huffadine; and "Summit Fever", Bruce Hunt, Milford Gallery, Dunedin.

Megan Huffadine is both artist and archaeologist, a combination of interests which is clearly visible in her works.

Here she displays cabinets of curiosities on the wall, a series of cases filled with three-dimensional objects which resemble some sort of ethnographic collection.

The various elements within each box are interchangeable, allowing different stories to be told through the potential symbolism and arrangement of these objects.

Huffadine's talismans comment on the nature of and desire for collecting, while their individual forms, not confined to any particular cultural heritage, are beautiful and mysterious.

Bruce Hunt presents "Summit Fever", a group of paintings depicting the rugged mountainous vistas of Central Otago.

These works, large in format, create a sense of isolation and emptiness.

Indeed in many of them the only trace of human activity is a trail cut into the hillside, skirting streams and valleys.

One of the more striking aspects of these works is the light, illuminating creases and valleys in the land, which creates patterns and movement across the surface of the canvas as well as delineating the topography.

These are landscapes which are familiar and absorbing, yet somewhat intimidating in their expansiveness.

"The Barge and the Bear", Christina Read; and "Trouble Everyday", Kate Woods, Blue Oyster Gallery.

At the Blue Oyster, Christina Read's installation is part sculpture, part film and part painting.

"The Barge and the Bear" is a complex array of objects, some found and some constructed. Photos and prints, altered with overlays of brightly painted shapes and signs, animals and birds, are scattered throughout the space and on the walls like clues in a treasure hunt.

Signs such as The Art Show and Nothing Really Matters create a sense of dialogue, while a 38-minute film silently displays a series of similarly altered images.

This installation reflects on the actions of the artist, making marks to create images and signs, the three-dimensional constructions a sort of drawing in sculpture.

In the Lower Gallery Kate Woods similarly alters found images.

Using faded prints of idyllic landscapes, each containing a watery element, Woods then paints structured forms into them.

The forms themselves are taken from '70s land art, and subvert the natural space with geometric columns and expanded crystalline shapes that appear to take flight on the work's surface.

These works have a surreal quality, the strange juxtaposition suggesting a sense of inaccessibility and commenting on the effects of earth art and other human interactions within the landscape, resulting in a potentially destructive alteration.