Fine Art From Earthquakes

Fine Art From Earthquakes

NZ Artist Kara Burrowes has found inspiration from beautiful native timbers reclaimed from earthquake destroyed buildings in Christchurch.

The timber the artist has selected are quality native timbers some painted that were used as weather boards. Other reclaimed boards have been employed where each piece has been carefully cut and reassembled similarly to a detailed jigsaw or mosaic. “Burrowes states… “my exhibition is a responsive observation made in the darkness of urban landscape…. the energy is in the detail, exposed walls of buildings, repeated elements of structures which are usually overlooked such as textures, structure, form and even decaying posters”.

In this new series of work the three dimensional and tactile nature of each picture is accentuated by the final finish. Golden works such as “Bling Structure 1” and “Bling Structure II” recall Ancient Aztec mosaics and the finely decorated geometric wall panels that were carved from stone and embedded into clay walls. As possibly the earliest metallurgists they also decorated their designs with gold. “I have reinterpreted the material into a new dialect of expression, reclassifying and repositioning it as alluring and precious. During the creation of each work the material has transferred from broken waste to a precious art object”.

The black and charcoal coloured works reflect perhaps the charred ruins of a house or city, or the depths of city on starless and moonless nights. Again, the three-dimensional uneven placement of the components highlight the mysterious underbelly of a large and darkened city.

The exhibition opens with a preview on Tuesday 26th September. And is on view from 27th Sept – 14th October, and is one of the exhibitions on view during Auckland ArtWeek 7-15 October.

© Scoop Media