‘‘20 Years On’’, Robin Brisker
(Hullabaloo Art Space, Cromwell)
HAVING travelled widely, living in 10 different countries before settling in Wanaka 20 years ago, Robin Brisker celebrates two decades in Otago with this solo exhibition.
A recent addition to the talented collective at the gallery, Brisker works in a variety of media, in this instance watercolour, ink, and collage, tying together frequently disparate subject matter with humour and whimsy. The collages use objects collected during his journeys — magazine and newspaper clippings, photographs, calendars, stamps, playing cards, old tickets, each one having its own history and connections.
Rather like reading a mystery novel and piecing together clues, each collage holds endless possible stories, likely to be distinct to the individual viewer.
Even the watercolour and ink works have an effect of collage, as Brisker pens a visual tale with grouped objects — plants and shells, birds and horseshoes, a lugubrious fish and a hopeful man brandishing a flower. Circles of colour become objects in themselves, and the whole effect is of various emotions translated into visual form. Early abstract artists such as Wassily Kandinsky experimented with synesthesia, the intersection of the senses — like hearing a music note and seeing a colour in your mind. In a similar vein, Brisker’s art often give the effect of being handed a brush and asked to paint a feeling like joy or curiosity. Ultimately, it’s an intriguing, unique chronicle of human experience.