‘Creative fossicking’ leads to multi-layered artworks
The paintings of John F. Emery aren’t always what they appear and are loaded with meaning, as seen in his latest exhibition, ‘Flora, Fauna and Fabrications’, at Little River Gallery.
Emery’s works are by turn nostalgic, contemplative and uplifting, created using mixed media and a process he calls ‘‘creative fossicking’’.
For Emery, getting there is a gradual process that relies on the wider connections he uncovers between objects, observations and memories.
This is the ‘‘fossicking’’, which Emery says he starts with no idea where it will lead.
‘‘In the case of Let’s Dance, it was the pukeko’s stride and beak that somehow made me think of red high-heeled pumps. It was only when I was titling the work that I realised the red shoes idea came from a David Bowie song that was recorded in 1983,’’ he says.
As the vision comes together, Emery sets about creating it using threedimensional forms that lift objects off the wall in a way that is often light, airy and magical.
Heavy-duty watercolour paper is cut, scored, folded, shaped and painted wet before assuming its place in a wider scene.
In this way, Emery says the tromp l’oeil illusion of a painted object appears alongside the reality of a constructed object to ‘‘shift the perspective and perception of a work and force the viewer to consider the point where reality and the imagined meet’’.
As one of Little River Gallery’s regular contributors, Emery brings the gallery beautiful paintings with a rich narrative and intriguing detail.
He moved to New Zealand from the United States in the early 1980s and has since exhibited widely in both countries.
❚ ‘‘Flora, Fauna and Fabrications’’ will be on display at Little River Gallery until March 6. Visit the gallery any day of the week on the main road through Little River, Banks Peninsula, call 03 325
1944 or find them online at littlerivergallery.com.
Emery’s works are by turn nostalgic, contemplative and uplifting.