Wairarapa Review VII

Taren Wood - Okey Dokey

Wairarapa Review promised to be interesting viewing, especially considering hidden beneath its calm exterior was the usual fear and loathing that accompanies any show considered to be showing the best art of a region.

Plus the fact that the Reviews of the past couple of years have been lucklustre, compounded by there being a large contingent of Wairarapa art followers whose dissatisfaction was increased by the fact that those they know and love were rejected when what was on show was clearly, to their mind, less than justified.

And a surprise it was, in that the show is refreshingly fresh, as if numerous of the better artists who had been wandering in the desert and not quite sure how to get out, have at last found a path forward, even if they may be just starting on it.

Some artists, like Paul Melser are quite comfortable in the path they have been treading for some years. Likewise Carol Anne Bayer.

Megan Campbell has been quiet for some years, but seems to have traded bourgeois New Zealand Victoriania for a more unsettling contemporary urban landscape.

Bernie Winkel has produced a working class work with an interesting colour palette, outside his previous norm with green greys.

In fact a lot of artists seem to have, or presently are evolving a palette suited to their personal language which works for them, and is refreshingly original for the viewer.

While it seemed to me the painters were leading the way, it was the three dimensional work which took all the prizes, despite being much weaker works.

That said, for the most part invited judge Jenny Nelligan of Bowen Galleries in Wellington, wasn’t hoodwinked by mere pretension.

Okey Dokey keeps good company with Wairarapa Review, in that it too sits more or less comfortably in its own visual language.

It has its weaknesses, or shall we say, doesn’t fully convince in all areas - primarily subject matter, or to expand more fully, they are very much semiotic works, with different elements juxtaposed beside each other. However, together they don’t add up to anything more than their individual elements, when some sort of “sentence” should be able to be read from these “words.”

The paintings are somewhat “gothic” in character, and somewhat reminiscent of New Zealand artist/fashion designer Misery aka Tanya Thompson and others like her, ultimately inspired by Japanese Manga comic art.

The works are at their most interesting and successful in their optical effects, which work to best advantage standing at a certain point from the works.

The problem is that up close they lose the ability to interest, which belies the ultimately illustrative nature of the paintings.

NB  I don't normally add a post script to a review, however, I have noticed on subsequent viewings of the Wairarapa Review VII exhibition that the majority of works quickly diminished in interest.