"The Dowling St Project", various artists, Dowling St Studios
Over the weekend, a group of local artists displayed several works in an exhibition at the Dowling St Studios.
A very short-term exhibition, the show offered a glimpse at the range of creative practices going on in Dunedin.
Finding the exhibition space was an experience in itself, following hand-drawn signs deep into an alleyway and up a somewhat derelict staircase.
But visitors are lured, both hesitant and expectant, up into the unknown by the sound of birdsong coming from the cavernous space above.
Further investigation reveals the source of the birdsong, a projection piece by Sam Foley titled On the Surface.
Clever and effective, the work consists of a still image - a painting - of a track through a forest.
The movement of light projected on to the surface of the work combined with the sound of rustling leaves gave the work a remarkably realistic sense of movement.
Other works included the strange and sometimes disturbing hybrids and headless figures in the paintings of Alan Bell, and Charlotte Parallel's dark, ambiguous sketches on large sheets of brown paper.
There is not nearly enough space to do the show justice here, and we can only hope that another, longer-running exhibition from these artists will be soon forthcoming.
"Home Is Where The Art Is", Tony Bishop, Milford Galleries Dunedin
Tony Bishop's latest collection of paintings at the Milford Gallery is, at first glance, a bright and decorative depiction of various New Zealand landscapes and the people therein.
These works are full of patterns and symmetry, with pure colours applied in a straightforward and crisp way.
The green pasture of these almost idyllic scenes glows with a solid intensity, contrasting in many of the works with more painterly, sometimes turbulent skies.
Despite their quirky appeal and the almost childlike rendering of form, Bishop's paintings come together to comment collectively on environmental and societal conditions.
Works such as Takitimu Train or Seaside Village seem to lull the viewer into a false sense of security with their romantic views and idealised landscapes.
On closer inspection, however, the subject of these works is more serious.
Junk Man, for instance, depicts the house of a hoarder, where rubbish and junk accumulate, creating an eyesore marring the landscape.
More sinister is Armed Offender Alert, in which the sky above is dark and looming, while a threatening scene plays out in the rural setting below.
As hidden concerns begin to reveal themselves, the colours of Bishop's paintings begin to look garish and contradictory.
These works are both aesthetically interesting and full of thought-provoking narratives.
"Array", John Edgar, Milford Galleries Dunedin
Sculptor John Edgar presents an absorbing series of works in stone and glass at the Milford Gallery this week.
Evolving from a consideration of abstraction and fundamental geometric forms, each sculpture is a medium-sized solid cube, intersected on each surface by a cross.
As the viewer navigates the space between these works, weaving from one elevated plinth to the next, the light hits each facet of the cubes in different ways, revealing new colours and shades.
Contrasts are created by the use of different coloured stone, such as Indian serpentine and New Zealand granite, producing a decadent range of surfaces and colours.
The works containing glass are particularly enticing.
Seen from certain angles, the glass is opaque and almost dull.
But from other views it catches the light, dissecting the cubes with ephemeral shafts of glowing colour so that each solid part looks as if it is suspended.
These works create a fascinating relationship between the solid form of the rock and the movement of both light and the viewer through the gallery space.
The titles of the works also are pared down to essential elements, with each work named simply Cube, followed by a description of its basic colours.
Edgar's cubes are like three-dimensional Mondrian paintings, a celebration of line and form as primary means of expression, while simultaneously drawing attention to the nature of the materials themselves.
