After COVID-19 brought The Vivian in Matakana to a close in April, Director Scott Lawrie has arrived in the heart of Grey Lynn with a new gallery space and a new name - Scott Lawrie Gallery.
His first solo artist show features extraordinarily powerful new work by Auckland-based artist Monique Lacey. This is Monique’s third solo show with the gallery, and her practice continues to go from strength to strength with her work being collected and shown not only in New Zealand, but internationally in Australia, the USA, and Paris.
The show, entitled Bipartiss Solucius, is an ironic ‘nose thumb’ to Donald Trump and his erratic, belligerent, and often unfathomable (not to mention intentionally misleading) use of language.
“In this time of flux and turbulence, our ability to make sense of the world seems to have been obliterated. I frequently listen to CNN while in the studio, as I’m interested in the ongoing political tensions in the US and their implications and effects,” explains Monique.
“Over time, it’s become apparent that Donald Trump’s ability to skew a soundbite into
a completely new language leaves us focussing on the memes and not the message. My recent work attempts to speak to the nature of these circumstances.”
Monique’s artworks have remarkably surprising origins, beginning life as ordinary cardboard boxes or even mundane plastic or paper bags, which she then manipulates with her body to crush, or flatten, twist and reform. She then uses special techniques to ‘petrify’ the forms with resins, pigments, plaster and paints. Once their function is removed, these objects quite literally become something far more special as a result – beautiful, awe-inspiring and deeply thoughtful artworks.
Opening Saturday 3 October @ 2-5pm, sponsored by Sawmill Brewery and Babich Wines. Everyone welcome. Free parking at 15 Williamson Avenue. Normal opening hours: Thursday to Saturday 11am-5pm.
Scott Lawrie Gallery, 2 Murdoch Road, T: 021 0826 5633, www.scottlawrie.com
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