Neil Pardington continues his fascination with collections and collection areas in his new exhibition The Wet Room, at Jonathan Smart Gallery until February 28.
The Wet RoomFebruary 03 - 28, 2009
In Pardington’s words, “this series focuses on the places we store those things that are most precious to us, and conversely those very similar spaces we store the obsolete and unwanted. In the process of making the work I have visited archives, museums, art galleries, banks and libraries.” ![]() ![]() The visual impact of The Vault series is undeniable. We are given access to spaces and objects rarely made public, from a viewpoint that may appear detached, but which also evokes the bizarre and the poignant. According to Pardington, “These images have their own rhythm, or beat, as the stacks grow or shrink and gleam in their dark stores. There is a redolence of a different kind - the collected culture and history of those things we deem important enough to keep, and those we too easily discard. And in the end we may wonder which tells us more about ourselves." Selected works1. Building 355 #1, National Army Museum Te Mata Toa 2008, 1200 x 1500mm 2. Entomology Store #1, Auckland Museum 2008, 1200 x 1500mm 3. Herbarium Corridor #1, Auckland Museum 2008, 1200 x 1500mm 4. Land Vertebrates Store #3, Auckland Museum 2008, 1200 x 1500mm 5. Natural Sciences Dry Store #1, Otago Museum 2008, 1300 x 1200mm 6. Polynesian Spear Storage, Otago Museum 2008, 1200 x 1500mm 7. Wet Room #1, Otago Museum 2008, 1200 x 1500mm 8. Wet Room #3, Otago Museum 2008, 1200 x 1500mm 9. Wet Room #2, Otago Museum 2008, 1500 x 1200mm 10. Land Vertebrates Store #1, Auckland Museum 2008, 1200 x 2215mm All works are LED prints on Fuji Crystal Archive paper, cold mounted onto Dibond. Each has an edition of 15. The works are available in two other sizes: 1000 x 1200mm, cold mounted onto Dibond 500 x 700mm, unmounted |