''Shadow Lands'', Liz Rowe (Hullabaloo Art Space, Cromwell)
Liz Rowe's ''Shadow Lands'' is an exploration of recent developments in the dairy industry, and a critical observation of the increasing focus on profit-making over environmental sustainability.
Genetic experiments and technological advances have dramatically changed the agricultural landscape, to both positive and negative effect.
With big corporations taking over from smallholdings, Rowe's concerns about the impact on the land take visual form in large, sprawling drawings and delicately teetering sculptures.
Splashes of colour drip down the drawings, evoking a sense of vigour and energy that emphasises the underlying protest.
The cows themselves are the most substantial forms in the images, standing out against the sketchier, more ephemeral building structures.
The cattle in the foreground face the viewer, forcing an acknowledgment of their presence and a confrontation of the issue, while a shadowy cluster begin to fade away into the background of Floods trigger quick decision.
The small sculptures mimic the latticed shapes of the water towers in the drawings.
The handcrafting is reminiscent of both play towers built in childhood and garden trellising, offering a striking juxtaposition to the ideas of corporate machinery and mass production.
The works build on Rowe's previous body of work, looking at the instability of the world as we adjust to the pressures of social, environmental, technological and political change.
''Impressions'' pottery exhibition (Cloakroom Gallery, Queenstown)
''Imoressions'' is a talent showcase of pottery and ceramic art from local Central Otago potters.
Works range from the sleek, elegant and functional, such as Di Fox's beautiful tableware, to the playfulness of Annebelle Numaguchi's tea sets.
Fox's vases are gorgeously crafted in smoky tones of grey, purple and white, looking as if they've captured spattered constellations and colours from a moody night sky.
The whimsical figures that hang from the sides of Numaguchi's bowls and teapots appear to be engaged in a perpetual game of hide-and-seek, peeping and peering around the rims.
Pieces by Kirsten Schiel and Shana Skelton draw on earth tones and botanical influences, with a lovely vase by Schiel appearing almost as if it were carved from flax, and Skelton deftly incorporating leaf and plant etchings into her fossil-like surfaces.
Lynne Wilson's work is a standout, her jewel-toned plaques and boxes glowing like treasures from a Venetian festival. Wilson uses the raku method of firing, which generally utilises hand-shaped forms, lower firing temperatures and the removal of works from the kiln while still glowing hot.
She believes that it adds ''a unique richness and shifting light'' to her clay wall works, adding that ''the land is never far away, either thematically or under [her] nails''.
Emma Butler, Kathryn Pender, Sunhee Shin and Jacquie Buick (Studio Gallery, Queenstown Arts Centre)
Emma Butler's gorgeous illustrative paintings are like a visual storybook, the games, quests and images of childhood imagination come to life.
The quirky surrealism of the young woman and her teapot-hat in Contemplation and the little girl with her whale in Ruby & Whale Rider is matched with a sophisticated colour palette and wonderful attention to detail.
The works are pure joyful fun, invested with a little bit of magic.
Kathryn Pender's Milford Deep captures the effect of being underwater, like exhaling with a burst of bubbles and looking up to see the sparkle and shimmer of light on the surface.
The glossy resin reflects the studio light and adds to the illusion of transparency.
Her more abstract Feet First is equally effective, perfectly conveying the sense of churning, rushing water that follows a splash into deep water.
Sunhee Shin portrays everyday slices of Central Otago life, history and nature in works like Three Creeks Service Station and Old Prospector's Hut.
The blend of both realism and stylised design works well, and the thread of humour in pieces such as Boots echoes Butler's whimsical style.
Another favourite work is Jacquie Buick's Arrowtown.
The mountains are slightly cubist in appearance, with their heavily outlined, divided planes and angles, and Buick's amazing eye for complementary colour brings a warm glow to the foreground.
by Laura Elliot
