If you're in or near Christchurch, get along to see Paul McLachlan's exhibition HOLY FIRE
on at Chambers Art Gallery until 18 June.
These works were created during Paul’s three-month art residency in Bangkok,
which was supported by the Asia New Zealand Foundation.
Drawn from his explorations of the city through temples, galleries, museums and the streets,
these images focus on the permeable membrane that separates the spiritual world from the everyday;
a focus on a spiritual climate that saturates the whole of Bangkok city life.
This project has been informed by experiences, exchanges, conversations and relationships
cultivated during his time at Art Hof in Phra Khanong.
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| Paul McLachlan, Apples of Epiphany, 2016 Lithograph, 227 x 284mm |
Images are built-up using drawings, photographs, found imagery and natural scenes.
Graphic black and white shapes have been utilised to form lyrical and poetic worlds
that slip between light and dark and positive and negative space,
while drawing on Thai art conventions.
Most notably, the nang yai arts (shadow puppets),
which use light and silhouettes to illustrate the epic Ramakien narratives,
and the black line-work of the gold leaf and lacquer panels of the Ayutthaya period;
decorative and allegorical depictions of paradise-like natural worlds.
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| Paul McLachlan, Ghost Dance, 2016 Lithograph, 227 x 284mm |
The prints in this exhibition were printed upon returning to New Zealand
using a photo-lithograph process at the University of Canterbury.
McLachlan’s residency is chronicled at www.paulmclachlan.co.nz/blog
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