KLUDGE - (a collection of ill-fitting parts)

IDS ORTS & UMBRA 2006 -2009

This exhibition was to be the opening show to launch 138 TENNYSON, a beautifully reappointed incarnation of Napier’s historic Red Cross Building. This wonderful space had been a gallery for years under many banners, including The Globe, The Scott Ormond Gallery, M.I.A. Gallery & The
Old Red Cross Gallery.

The new owner asked me if I could fill the gallery. I was excited by this idea as I had enough work from the last five years to have a look back at constructions, assemblages, paintings and works on paper in one space and see if it made any sense as a body of work. Not being really sure how it would all sit together I titled it KLUDGE - a collection of ill-fitting parts, hoping it would make a nonsense of itself.

The gallery was painted charcoal, an unusual concept in itself, which I thought could work well with my work, and was being set up with good lighting, a Champagne Bar, a working kitchen and some interesting moderne furniture and sound system. Money was being spent and I was impressed - She’s doing this well - it has every chance of working! I spent a couple of weeks hanging and finessing the collection and as the opening date kept sliding forward due to the mounting up of seemingly endless building and finishing problems, I began preparing some bigger
sculptural pieces to top it off. Had I been less excited I would have seen the writing on the wall.

I left town for a fabulous week in Gore where I had a survey show FABRICATION, at the Western Southland Gallery, and returned to Napier ready to settle the opening date and print the invites myself if necessary. I went down to the gallery to hang some new paintings and was staggered to find ‘for lease’ signage in the window, after no contact whatsoever from the owner. She had hit the wall financially and her dream of a wonderful gallery and my opening show was history. It says something about her disappointed and stressed state of mind that she didn’t bother to even
send me a text - just shut up shop. Fortunately I had a key to the building and was able to get in with my friend Brian Culy and photograph the work before removing it.

This is KLUDGE the show that nobody saw. . .

Fane Flaws March 2009

Striped Flag Triptych #1 (demolition timber) 1800 x 800 mm

Striped Flag Triptych #2 (demolition timber) 1600 x 550 mm

Striped Flag Triptych #3 (demolition timber) 1500 x 550 mm

Striped Flag Triptych #4 (demolition timber) 1600 x 8550 mm

Kitchen Sponge Flag of Nowhere (kitchen sponges on board ) 900 x 820 mm

from THE HAWKES BAY REVIEW 2008

Maternal Shoe With Psychedelic Id (oil on canvas) 1300 x 1300 mm

Council Of The Psychedeic Ids (oil on canvas) framed 1520 x 1520 mm

Idiot-Self With Forest & Birds (oil on canvas) 1300 x 1300 mm

Id Party (oil on canvas) 1300 x 1300 mm

Secret Men's Business (found objects demolition timber & paint)

Black & White Shadowboard (found objects demolition timber & paint) 1000 x 1000 mm

Pink & White Shadowboard (found objects demolition timber & paint) 1300 x 500 mm

Tooth & Nail (found objects demolition timber & paint) 1300 x 400 mm

Red & Green Shadowboard (found objects demolition timber & paint) 350 x 200 mm

Hammer & Pliers - diptych (found objects demolition timber & paint) 450 x 500 mm

Kitchen Shadowboard (found objects demolition timber, lino & paint) 300 x 300 mm

Bird with Shadowboard (acrylic on canvas) 760 x 760 mm

from BIRDLAND 2007

Genuine Fake - tripych (demolition timber) 900 x 2700 mm

Circle - tripych (demolition timber) 900 x 2700 mm

Simulated Mistake - tripych (demolition timber) 900 x 2700 mm

Striped Abstract Selection (demolition timber)

Striped Abstract # 30 (demolition timber) 1200 x 600 mm

Striped Abstract # 15 (demolition timber) 490 x 700 mm

Striped Abstract # 14 (demolition timber) 900 x 820 mm

Striped Abstract # 33 (demolition timber) 530 x 300 mm

Optimistic Surfaces (demolition timber & paint)

Primitive Subconscious with Stripes (demolition timber & paint) 900 x 820 mm

Flag of Nowhere with Jo Blogg (enamel on demolition timber) 405 x 810 mm

Optimistic Surface #1 (enamel on demolition timber) 700 x 600 mm

New Model Selection (demolition timber, found obects & paint) 2910 x 1070 mm

My Guitar (timber assemblage) 600 x 1200 mm

Guitiki (mixed media assemblage) 610 x 830 mm

Childsplay (Brown Clown) (demolition timber, found obects & paint) 760 x 560 mm

Gloom & Foreboding (demolition timber, found obects & paint) 220 x 370 mm

Next Years Model (demolition timber, found obects & paint) 2910 x 1070 mm