I’m glad you’re here, just the way you are

Exhibition – 27^th June – 18^th July Toi Poneke Gallery, Wellington

**Storm** Paint, canvas, pastel, charcoal, fabric, on paper. Framed $1650

Sometimes art making feels like an act of self-acceptance. What are these tangled, drippy, complex, funny things? They are you, and me, and what’s between us. They push and pull, unravel and stick together. They are proud and stand up. They are tired, and slump against a wall, their back drooping and moulding to what’s already there.

**To be, to carry** Paint, wood, canvas, fabric, wool, thread, glitter. Wooden structure by Luca Larkin $1800

I am interested in the structures that we build, not the ones that are built for us. We live in these structures that already exist, bending our bodies and who we are to try to fit and survive them. But what happens when we build our own, that reflect our bodies, experience and meaning making? We are a messy being, poured into an appearance of coherence. We are complex, mysterious eco-systems, in bodies that are constantly in flux and change, becoming and changing, responding and growing. Many things are true at once.

**Sling** Wood, paint, canvas, wool, silk thread, leather Wooden structure by Luka Larkin $1650

I create visible, physical structures through drawing and sculpture, that reflect the beings we are. In woven together pieces of ribbon, fabric and paint, we see moments of discovering support, reaching out, fragility and courage. Process-based drawings and collages in pastels, charcoal and pencil are made without a plan, building one colour up to make friends with another. Shapes and forms are organic, diverse. The viewer is invited on a visual adventure, traversing slides, curves, swooshes and sticky bits. Where is the beginning and where is the end? Everything is connected, and you are welcomed into this permissive space where you are allowed to make your own connections. It is about feeling.

**Way in** (image on left) Pastel and pencil on paper, 1500mm x 900mm, framed $1650 **Walk** (image on right) Pastel, pencil, assemblage on paper, framed $750

Every connection between materials is reflective of the step before. Because this paint has solidified, now I can build a lace net. Because the lace net is here, I can prop this string of sequins to reach that other edge. People often ask me if I start with a plan of what I’m going to make. The answer is no, I start with a line, which leads to another line. Experience is lived, it’s doing. Every day is full of risk, trial and error, surprises and feeling. To be human is to be messy! In my work I try to represent this process we experience, but rarely make visible.