In the midst of a global pandemic, when we are asked to stay indoors and do less, it is art that will and continues to get us through.
From Netflix and books, to the art and objects in our domestic places. This time has forced all of us to imagine new ways of being, seeing and knowing and as Rebecca Solnit reminds us: “People have always been good at imagining the end of the world, which is much easier to picture than the strange sidelong paths of change in a world without end.”
But change is rarely straightforward, so it is with no surprise for us to learn that when the pandemic hit and lockdown was enforced, New Plymouth-based artist Reuben Paterson chose not to scale up productivity. Instead, he found new grounding in slowing down to reset and reconnect.
“I’d love to take this pace into the new world, step back from the notion of deadline and be organic,” Paterson explains. “I want to experience seasons in my art like I do in my garden.
“I’m a part of the cycle of the hue in this now, so for the dried hue I work with, I am also harvesting fresh gourds from the garden and the growing and drying of these the hue is about patience, persistence and time. They are in no need to hurry but everything about them is perfectly accomplished.
