FACES: Lindsay Marsh is welcomed into Fine Arts Whanganui with an exhibition of her work.
PICTURE / PAUL BROOKS
FACES: Lindsay Marsh is welcomed into Fine Arts Whanganui with an exhibition of her work.
PICTURE / PAUL BROOKS
Venture into Fine Arts Whanganui Gallery on Taupo Quay and you'll be greeted by faces of famous, but deceased people. In charcoal and graphite, the drawings are the work of Lindsay Marsh, who has been newly welcomed into the artists' collective with an exhibition entitled Gone, But Not Forgotten.
Lindsayfills the space in the collective recently vacated by Jane Toy. She was approached by the group to join. "It was a unanimous vote," says Fine Arts Whanganui's Pamela Lilburn. Lindsay's point of difference is that she is also a printmaker.
For the exhibition, she found herself creating new work. "I built on what I had," she says. Each drawing is of a well-known New Zealander, and in each work is something symbolic and meaningful. For example, in the portrait of James K Baxter there is a design in Maori motif, almost hidden in his beard. It represents his links with Maori. From that beginning Lindsay decided to include something like it in every portrait. "It's almost been the hardest part, to relate the symbol with the person," says Lindsay. There's a magpie almost hidden in the image of Denis Glover, a nuclear-free symbol beside David Lange and Whina Cooper's portrait has a map of the North Island and a line representing the route of her famous hikoi.
In the charcoal picture of artist Ralph Hotere there's a representation of one of his own paintings and in the graphite drawing of Kate Sheppard, she wears a rosette with the voting tick in the centre.
Others represented are Aunt Daisy (Maud Basham MBE), Katherine Mansfield, Janet Frame, Mother Mary Aubert and Colin McCahon (with I AM emblazoned on his shirt).
Drawing has always been a part of Lindsay's life. It was encouraged and honed during her years as a student at the Quay School of Arts (UCOL) in Whanganui where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2009, majoring in printmaking. Since graduating she has continued to work as an artist, specialising in charcoal and graphite drawings and woodcuts.
