Ancient bees-wax art form on show
A Golden Bay artist is exhibiting bees wax-based artworks that could last you and your progeny 2000 years, if history is anything to go by.
Jo Campbell practises encaustic art, an ancient technique that was once used to paint pictures of people before they were mummified in Egypt. It predates oil painting and fresco, the technique that was used on the ceiling at the Sistine Chapel. Original encaustic paintings are still around today.
Ms Campbell’s work is currently exhibiting under the theme ‘‘Landline’’ at Kereru Gallery, Mariri.
‘‘I’ve chosen to work with that [theme] in two ways. One is I wanted to make lines entirely out of land and I’m grinding my own rock from Golden Bay and using that as pigment.
‘‘The other angle I’ve taken on it is I’m practising with ‘landing a line’ in the tradition of Japanese calligraphy. It’s known as ‘enso’. It’s a form of meditation you bring your whole self to, to make one bold line. I’ve tried to approach the painting as a form of meditation. It’s a practice,’’ said Ms Campbell.
The long-time artist makes her own encaustic paint from scratch.
‘‘That involves local bees wax, a tree resin and the pigments ground from local rock. The tree resin is added to raise the melting point of the wax to 70 degrees centigrade, it hardens the wax and creates a durable finish.
‘‘I think I was drawn to seeing a medium that allows you to create a real sense of depth and translucency. There literally is depth, there are many layers to it. ‘‘I love that it’s part painterly and part sculptural.’’
She describes encaustic painting as both a process and a product.
‘‘I’m continuing to explore what I can do with the medium and through that at the same time, the process in itself is a practice for me.’’ Creating artwork from scratch is an exciting concept for Ms Campbell.
‘‘It’s like MasterChef meets Matisse. It has an alchemy feeling to it. You’re taking a lump of wax which is a solid thing and a lump of rock, which is a solid thing and cooking it all up. You end up with something totally different.’’
Ms Campbell has a BA in Fine Arts Sculpture from Edinburgh College of Art.
She has future exhibitions coming up this year in Nelson, Golden Bay and Canterbury.
Landline runs until February 3 at Kereru Gallery, corner of Highway 60 and Wood Loop, Mariri. Phone 021 262 9315.
Website: jocampbellNZ.com.