27 February - 14 May 2016, Hocken Gallery
The exhibition a deep and tumbling kind of laughter marks the culmination of John Ward Knox’s time as the 2015 Frances Hodgkins Fellow. Working across a wide range of media throughout his fellowship year, a deep and tumbling kind of laughter presents a cohesive grouping of paintings. The fine detail and translucency in these works was achieved by a meticulous hand, slowly building up layers of paint to create the subtle variations of skin tone, complete with veins and imperfections, so that the skin appears almost luminescent. Small in size and intimate in nature, these paintings create reasons for looking at alternative views of the human body, encouraging a more thoughtful, compassionate gaze to that employed on a regular day to day basis.
Ashes is the substantial publication that accompanies this exhibition. It delves into the varied projects that John undertook throughout his fellowship year. Ashes is divided into three books; Spam diaries, a writing project with 30 entries, 2015*, documenting selected exhibitions and artworks produced during his fellowship year and a deep and tumbling kind of laughter, drawings that lead to the development of the current exhibition.
Ashes, has been a major project in itself for John. Each book has approximately 80 pages and is printed using a risograph. The 3 books are presented as a box set and all design and printing work was undertaken here in Dunedin. These will be available to purchase from the Hocken.
John Ward Knox, No Title, 2016, oil on board
