Recognition in symbols

By GAIL BAILEY


To set the record straight, Robert Ellis, one of New Zealand's long-standing artists, has moved on from city landscapes. And no, he doesn't have any of those city paintings left for sale. "People are still calling me up asking for paintings I did years ago," Ellis says with a bit of feigned exasperation in his voice.

KITE: see find recognise - Ellis' exhibition at Milford Galleries - does continue, though, a common thread that has been part of Ellis' paintings for decades. That is his continual investigation of the relationship between his European heritage and that of the Maori culture he married into.

Land as a spiritual entity, an all encompassing passion, was a concept previously divorced from Ellis' personal experience before he met his wife, Elizabeth.

Ellis, who migrated to New Zealand from England more than 50 years ago, found himself in "an alien country", where everything down to the fauna, the insects, the geography, the "wrong side up" constellation, had to be learned.

"For the first time in my life I had a whole new way of looking at landscapes. It was quite a culture shock for me. I was a city dweller and here I was being introduced to a much more powerful and cohesive relationship to land. Land is a consuming part of being Maori. It had history, connected to who lived there. Every hill had relevance."

Thus, the gigantic landscapes in Ellis' Te Ipu a Mataaho / Natura Morta and Maungawhau / Natura Morta are more than a topographical interpretation of New Zealand.

This fact is further compounded by Ellis' inclusion of various Christian, classical, celestial, European and Maori symbols within his rendering of New Zealand landscapes.

Interpretation of these symbols is dependent, of course, on the viewer's code of reference. A cross is not necessarily a sign of the crucifixion, says Ellis.

"I like the idea of symbols being ambiguous. There is always ambiguity and all great paintings have the potential to absorb you, that make you so intrigued that you come to see other things. I try to create paintings that disturb slightly, that cause people to lose their equilibrium."

And one can definitely lose one's balance while looking at one of Ellis' landscape paintings.

Eyes darting around to the varied images of the Holy Communion, flying kites, stars, darts - and not to mention the monumental sphere (an armillary) prominently placed in the Te Ipu a Mataaho and Maungawhau series - is enough to cause one's head to swirl.

To further comprehend the significance of these juxtapositions requires a bit of mental acumen - but also an understanding of the spiritual, historical and political relationship New Zealanders have with land.

Moving on from landscape to the terrain of people, included in the exhibition are 20 portraits entitled Natural Selection. The series of small paintings of heads, mostly in profile - as if they are superimposed busts meant for a regal stamp collection or a national flag - is not so much of a stretch in themes, says Ellis. The figures, he says, are portraits of a condition, a state in New Zealand.

There is a sombre tinge to all of the portraits. All of the 14 men and six women seem lost in contemplation - probably of a time long gone and lost - yet imprinted in memory.

Ellis says that people will not recognise anyone in this series, since "they are not of particular people but an amalgamation. The symbols in the paintings are just as important as the person.

"When drawing a figure, it is not only important to concentrate on the model. It's the drawing that is important and it is just as necessary to get the metaphors right. Everything is in the drawing," he concludes.

As in Ellis' landscapes, there are plenty of symbols to contend with in these portraits: signs of the alpha and the omega, the koru, a crown, portions of historical flags, along with Ellis' popular images that are an integral part of his larger paintings.

The way in which an artist defines things and others is a direct reflection, naturally, on personal history and experience. "My paintings are my interpretation of New Zealand, coalescing facets of my European background." Ellis further adds, "a lot of my work is personal, containing my codes of reference, which may be a bit esoteric. I am often trying to express something inexplicable and this comes out in symbols."

The career of Ellis, which spans 50 years, continues to be on the move, he says. Yet one cannot help but find connections to what an artist has done before.

The elements of New Zealand landscape intermixed with emblems/symbols are quintessentially Ellis - but there also exists a code, a sort of language still left to decipher.

Unfortunately, Ellis says in passing, "People have lost the ability to interpret symbols."

Exhibition

*What: KITE: see find recognise, by Robert Ellis

*Where and when: Milford Art Galleries, Kitchener St, to Nov 6