The first video work to enter the Dunedin Public Art Gallery’s collection captures the magic and mystery of nature, writes Robyn Notman
New Zealand born Sydney-based artist Hayden Fowler (b. 1973) presents a clutch of regal, feather-duster-like fowl set within a constructed diorama of wasteland trees in New World Order, a single-channel video work made in 2013.
Combining his background in biology and the fine arts with a sense of the spiritual, Fowler's works are richly animistic and point to the vulnerability, but also the incredible regenerative power of nature.
The magic and mystery, fragility and potency of plants and animals is heightened in this fairytale-like work where the creatures hold their own despite the apparent devastation that surrounds them: they are totemic, free-willed, confident, playful and exotic. The accompanying sound-track, comprised of seemingly random bursts of unfamiliar electronic chortles, forms the strange language of these birds, who communicate exclusively with each other.
Given to the Dunedin Public Art Gallery in 2013 by the Auckland based ArtFiveO Trust, this 15 min 17 sec video is the first work in this media to enter the gallery's collection.
New World Order is currently on show in the collection-based exhibition ``Exploded Worlds'' until July 2017.
• Robyn Notman is Dunedin Public Art Gallery public programmes manager.
