Former army artist Matt Gauldie may be out of the army but he is still testing himself — this time with an exhibition of bronze bird sculptures, he tells Rebecca Fox.
It may be more than 10 years since Matt Gauldie left the army but his time as an army artist still resonates with him today.
“I’m very proud of my artwork that I made over there because it really did speak to the emotions of everyday soldiers just like me and how it felt.’’
He joined the army aged 28 when the role of army artist was revived by former prime minister Helen Clarke and former major-general Sir Jerry Mateparae. Gauldie went on to serve in Afghanistan, East Timor and the Solomon Islands as well as travelling to historical war sites in Egypt, Turkey, France and Belgium.
“I fit in very much into the army and I enjoyed it. I loved the culture. I got to understand that they all look the same from the outside, that there are lots of different people and personalities.
“And also, when I was able to serve overseas, you’re able to get a very firsthand and very confrontational insight into what New Zealand soldiers face on a day-to-day level, how they feel.’’
Being able to paint those scenes was a “very rare and privileged’’ opportunity for an artist.
“Then actually be paid to come home and paint those experiences and do justice to friends of mine and people that were there and just paint exactly what it was. No propaganda. And I think that those paintings, I’m very proud of those.’’
“But most of them are in the messes. There’s like the hundred-man messes where there’s some of my watercolours and things on the walls. Where the soldiers, even soldiers now, sit in there and eat their food.’’
Looking back on those works today he finds them to be “quite gripping’’ as they convey some of the atmosphere he experienced.
“Also from a career perspective it gave me a point of difference and enabled me to continue on with a career I could sink my teeth into.’’
These days Gauldie lives and works on the Kapiti Coast painting and sculpting.
While his 11 years in the army finished in 2015, it is never far from his mind. It took a tremendous amount of hard work to find his feet and direction after leaving the army.
“It’s a very common path for people trying to reinvent and transition between time with the army and back into the real world and family life.’’
Bronze has been part of his practice since the early 2000s when he had a studio with other artists at the Shelley Bay air force base and was invited to take part in a workshop aimed at teaching younger artists the skills of lost wax casting.
So as well as being known for his paintings, Gauldie is known for his life-sized horse sculptures such as the bronze Kaimanawa horse in Waiouru and the WW1 bronze warhorse commemorating the horses that died on battlefields (2017) in the Waikato. But until recently painting has dominated.
It was working on a small bronze sculpture of a pīwakawaka (NZ fantail) last year for the widow of soldier who died in Afghanistan’s charity, that made him think.
“I thought this is quite cool, I’m really enjoying doing this.’’
So he began to dig deeper, not wanting to just make “pretty birds’’, but sculptures with meaning.
“It’s about using an animal to represent the spiritual messages and the Kaimanawa horse is fallen soldiers. And so each one of them sort of goes to feed the next sculpture.’’
That resulted in adding other symbols or objects to the birds to give them a narrative and something for people to “sink their teeth into and love or hate it’’.
“I’d rather have art be polarising. I’d rather have people come up and tell me they hate it because at least they managed to ruffle some feathers.”
One of his sculptures has a bird sitting on a beer bottle.
“It is representing what’s kept me afloat at times in my life and my journey with alcohol especially after leaving the army and sort of pretty much trying to sink myself with alcohol. And coming out the other side.’’
It also led him to look at casting other metals. He had a lot of scrap aluminium lying around so he tried adding that to a cast.
“If it works out, then you can end up having a lovely contrast between the two different metals. And I think I found that inspiring.’’
So began the difficult journey of integrating the two different alloys.
“It’s certainly been a bit of a struggle. It hasn’t been as easy as I originally intended but I feel the artwork that came about from it, one in particular, the faithful kereru (wood pigeon) was relatively successful mixing the two bronze and aluminium alloys.’’
It also features his army Kōwhaiwhai pattern which describes him, his work and journey with the army
“It has that army Kowhaiwhai on one of the pickets of the picket fence, which describes where I sit. And those pickets, they’re my picket fence outside my house that I’m looking at right now.’’
He has kept experimenting and creating, pushing the alloys further.
The process has led him to evaluate his own life journey, where he stands and where he is at.
“As I’m getting older some of the things that I feel strongly about and trying to symbolise that with using native New Zealand birds. I try to make them look as real as possible. And, I love doing representational artwork.’’
But he also likes to “scratch a bit deeper” trying not to make them too pretty and give them an expressive quality.
“You’ve got to leave room for the brush strokes with the paint and then you've got to also leave a bit of scratch work with the wax and with your bronze castings too.’’
The birds, which are also inspired by artist Paul Dibble who Gauldie got to meet a few times, are now being exhibited in Dunedin at The Artist’s Room alongside fellow artist Al Bell’s, prints.
“He’s got the walls, I've got the floor.’’
Exhibiting in Dunedin is special to Gauldie whose parents lived in the city in the 1960s as did he years ago, working in a studio in Dowling St while his partner was at medical school.
“It was a really awesome experience to be there working with those Dunedin artists and it was a really pivotal time for me.’’
Gauldie left Dunedin for Otaki where he still lives — making the works in his garage, known as the “bronze shed’’ often using gear he has made himself. He has taken on the casting of all his sculptures since the death of Marton bronze caster Ross Wilson four years ago who used to cast his work and also taught him how to do it.
‘‘There’s been a few missed pours, you learn every pour. And I’m certainly not going to shout my expertise from the hilltops because I certainly know that there’s a lot to learn. But I’m really enjoying the challenge anyway of bronze.’’
“There’s a certain type of person that can feel confident around 2000 degrees of molten metal and pouring it, connecting up gravity-fed diesel into the back end of a vacuum cleaner in reverse. I mean, that was literally how we did it.’’
These days he works with gas as he found diesel too hot which destroyed the crucibles even if it took a bit longer to do.
“There’s obviously the primal nature of it all. And then lately, I’ve been starting to get a little bit more into the technical elements and starting to enjoy adding other metals and designing things to slot together.’’
So some of the birds, such as the kingfisher and kereru, are the result of up to six separate pourings to make the one sculpture.
It requires each piece to be designed to slot perfectly into each other without a gap and there is no going back once a piece is cast.
“It’s all very old school. No AI or CNC routing or computer-generated bits.’’
When not in his “bronze shed’’, he can be found painting for the New Zealand Remembrance Army.
Each year the army commissions a portrait of a prominent New Zealander involved in the armed forces who have gone on to do amazing things afterwards.
This year Gauldie painted Sir Owen Woodhouse, a torpedo commander and the architect of New Zealand’s ACC system, and gifted it to Napier Boys’ High School around Anzac Day.
He also talks to school children and takes art classes.
“The community outreach and shining the spotlight on influential New Zealanders aligns with my vision of how art can make a difference.’’
He also continues to do painting of defence force army corps, regiments and for anniversaries feeling like he almost does more now for the army than he did while in it.
Gauldie describes it as a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde situation, even when he was younger, as he tried to balance his army life with that of being an artist.
With his latest work Gauldie feels like he is doing art in response to his own personal transition.
“There’s nothing like having children running around the place and fighting for every minute that you can possibly get into the studio and do some work. It’s grounding and it’s an opportunity to really reflect on who you are and the motivation behind your artwork. And I think as you get older, things shift a lot as an artist’s ego drives you when you’re younger.
“So if you don't have your own drive and your own motivations, then you’re going to find yourself flat looking for affirmation or accolades because they’re not going to be there every day when you've got to drag your ass into the studio.’’
Gauldie feels as if he is now able to put his “soul out there’’ in his work as the exhibition gave him the opportunity to put commission work on hold for a few months to create what spoke to him.
“It does free you up when you don't have to be so influenced by if things are going to sell or not, which is a death sentence to art and creativity, in my opinion.”
TO SEE
‘‘Te hui o nga Manu’’ — Al Bell, Matt Gauldie, Artist’s Room, until May 15 (works will still be able to be seen in gallery after that date).
