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| Cleared Land - 2012 |
Occasionally I do see shows here that do warrant a look and Chris Corson-Scott's substantial exhibition at the lively artist run space the Snake Pit is certainly one well worth looking at. Corson-Scott works in the difficult, now old fashioned medium of 10x8 film. His prints are large, finely detailed, deceptively simple yet loaded. Well seen and composed too. His subject matter is mostly the streets within walking distance of his home in Auckland's Mount Eden. These landscapes, all made in 2012, are expansive and so is his concept. The open-minded viewer is sucked into an engagement with these works where the big picture offers familiarity, and details trigger memory and distant recollections. I'm left wondering what might have happened here and what might be about to. Despite appearing that nothing much is happening in these pictures, everything is. For the lazy thirty second looker these photographs are easy to walk away from and be dismissed, but for those prepared to invest more in the act of looking and understanding, the works offer much.
It is clear too that Corson-Scott knows the history of the medium and fully realizes the significance of how each and every picture made owes its allegiance to those gone before. This is intelligent picture making for the informed intelligent viewer.
Subject matter apart, these works could have been made anywhere and are not rubber- stamped with the ever popular New Zealand vernacular icons. For those used to images of Maori Hei-tiki and plaster penguins this work will likely be over their heads and under the radar. That is a great pity because this work is impressive picture making that deserves to be widely seen, collected and enjoyed.
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| The Neighbors' Garden - 2012 |
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| Fraser at Oakley Creek - 2012 |
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| Lauren and Chris by Reservoir - 2012 |
Snake Pit, 33 High Street, Auckland, Wed to Sat, 11 - 5pm. Until September 29th
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