A period spent tramping in the New Zealand bush provided the inspiration for an exhibition by Becky Cameron.
The work is predominantly painted, although there are mixed media elements to some pieces.
The extended walk, taken over a period of several weeks, allowed the artist time to muse on the symbiotic nature of the relationship between humans and the natural world.
Our often harmful role in this relationship led directly to several of the works, pieces in which the human figure has become a part of the photosynthesis process, the Green Man of European myth.
In other works, it is what the artist refers to as the ‘‘orderly chaos'' of the bush which has caught Cameron's imagination.
The multiple layers of plant seen in every bush scene build up the structural basis for these works, with the interplay of light on leaf, and the repeating interwoven patterns of plant stem and foliage.
In some smaller paintings, such as King of a Rainy Country, structured depiction has been largely replaced by abstract moodiness, adding an extra element to the exhibition.
Elsewhere, such as with Walking in the Bush II, bold strokes imply rather than spell out the lancewood-dominated scene, in a style reminiscent of Japanese traditional art.
‘‘Stranger in Strange Land'', Jae Hoon Lee (Dunedin Public Art Gallery)
Jae Hoon Lee's exhibition at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, ‘‘Stranger in Strange Land'', is a psychogeography: a psychology of journeys, and of the outsider looking in.
The artist, with his Korean-American-New Zealand life history, sees himself as a ‘‘cultural wanderer'', exploring new settings while viewing them with precepts gained elsewhere.
His work, in the form of large-scale video and other digital presentations, explores what it means to be the titular stranger.
The exhibition's largest displays are reflected dreamscapes of the Southern Alps, floating at dizzying angles across the corners of the gallery.
They encourage us to take a new look at a familiar land, as does the composite image of the Southern Lakes, an archetype rather than an actual location, which greets visitors at the display's entrance.
Other works include the Big Wall's Roosevelt Island, a digital scan of the ground in a New York park, presented in huge format, scanner glitches and all.
Here we are forced to look at the mundane features of a patch of grass, and to ask what it is which makes this place different from any other.
In smaller works, such as the video Sate, filmed through the window of an Indonesian restaurant, we become the vicarious stranger, the recording displaying an all-too-real view of an unfamiliar culture.
‘‘New Works'', Tony Williams (Tony Williams Jewellery Gallery)
With the finest jewellery, less is frequently more.
The finest quality is stressed over quantity: craftsmanship over bling.
And so it is with Tony Williams' latest exhibition; less is more here in the sense that the focus is on a handful of exquisite new works.
This wasn't the original intention, but, despite being very much at the top end of the market, work intended for this display has been quickly snapped up before it could even get to the exhibition stage.
The works are gorgeous pieces, and are accompanied by an array of Williams' equally fine older work.
The eye is initially drawn to the largest stone, a fiery citrine set in silver as a bold and showy ring.
Three other less ostentatious rings nearby are even more impressive.
Two of these, a lenticular diamond and enamel work, and a boat-shaped gold design inset with ruby and diamond, flank a beautiful tourmaline and diamond piece inspired by the crashing Catlins surf.
Tourmaline is also the stone of choice for a fine pair of Art Nouveau-influenced earrings.
One star of the show, set apart from what is normally considered jewellery, is a walking cane topped with a silver and enamel heraldic dolphin.
The craftsmanship is excellent, and the resulting piece is warm, friendly, and very attractive.
