Feeling Nature, Feeling FreeMay 13 - June 4, 2016 Christchurch artist Rob Hood has long been drawn to the banal, the objects of our everyday, and with his droll humour and keen sense of placement breathes unexpected new life into them. He has in the past subjected broken windscreens, roadside markers, buckets and poles to his unusual visual poetry. Now in Feeling Nature, Feeling Free it is towards nature, and our activities in and around nature, that he casts his wary eye. Willful and wry – these problems are not just surreal. In New Zealand, the increasing manipulation of landscape is a pressing problem. Hood makes his point elegantly and well. A subtly reconfigured old (inch to the mile) map of Otira framed on the end wall makes the same point. And a looped DVD, Coupland’s Waterfall (from the corner of Buchanans and Curletts Rds in Christchurch) explores similar territory. Never has this water feature looked so good. Two storeys high in concrete, fibreglass and generous planting – if you can’t get out into nature then at least, while waiting at the lights on one of Hornby’s busiest corners, you can see it recreated in all of its splendor – feel good and feel free. On ya Rob.
Selected worksPlease hover over image to see title...
List of works Erosion Problems, 2016 Washing Machine Brazier, Kindling & Sausages, 2016 Donald’s Pew, 2016
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