Thornton Walker: Landscapes for uncertain times
Walker was born in New Zealand before moving to Australia with his family in 1965 when he was 12 years old. 鈥淎s I get older, those early days in New Zealand have come to mean a lot more to me.鈥� He pulls out a painting, The guardian, and the wood pigeon, and hangs it on a couple of the nails that are hammered grid like into the white bagged brick wall.
鈥淩ecently I鈥檝e been reminiscing about those early years in Auckland and in particular, a bush-reserve near my home, called Dingle Dell. I often went there with my dog to explore the narrow tracks that networked the reserve under its dark canopy. In my memory it was a mysterious place and seemed to be inhabited by spirits.鈥� An iridescent blue bird, a Kerer奴, flies out of the top of the painting, while a brooding carved Tiki-like figure stands guard over the forest below.
Nevertheless, Walker says his paintings 鈥渁re not specific places, they might start off describing a hill in Tasmania or a recollected landscape in New Zealand, but during the painting process these specific references become more unclear; my interest is much more in eliciting a feeling, a fantastical, dream like world.鈥�
Recommended for you
Walker was born in New Zealand before moving to Australia with his family in 1965 when he was 12 years old. 鈥淎s I get older, those early days in New Zealand have come to mean a lot more to me.鈥� He pulls out a painting, The guardian, and the wood pigeon, and hangs it on a couple of the nails that are hammered grid like into the white bagged brick wall.
鈥淩ecently I鈥檝e been reminiscing about those early years in Auckland and in particular, a bush-reserve near my home, called Dingle Dell. I often went there with my dog to explore the narrow tracks that networked the reserve under its dark canopy. In my memory it was a mysterious place and seemed to be inhabited by spirits.鈥� An iridescent blue bird, a Kerer奴, flies out of the top of the painting, while a brooding carved Tiki-like figure stands guard over the forest below.
Nevertheless, Walker says his paintings 鈥渁re not specific places, they might start off describing a hill in Tasmania or a recollected landscape in New Zealand, but during the painting process these specific references become more unclear; my interest is much more in eliciting a feeling, a fantastical, dream like world.鈥�
Artists on show
What's on nearby
