Poster art sees Fleur blossom

POSTER PROJECT: Fleur Wickes in her Victoria House studio. PICTURE: PAUL BROOKS

Fleur Wickes' studio on the first floor of Victoria House is a huge, warm, welcoming space, and she's anxious to share it as part of La Fiesta and answer any questions about her work.
A self-confessed admirer of Carla Donson, manager of Wanganui Women's Network and organiser of La Fiesta, it was easy for Fleur to offer her studio and her time for La Fiesta's programme.
Although she has been here only a short while - this time - Fleur is a Wanganui returnee. She attended Wanganui Girls' College and her parents owned the Upokongaro Hotel in the 1980s.
Recently she was looking for somewhere quiet to raise her son and a stint teaching at UCOL summer school convinced her to come back to Wanganui after years in Wellington.
"I just fell in love with it again; it's such a beautiful place," she says.
For her La Fiesta show, Fleur is working on a poster project, the "dummies" of which formed a pathway across the old wooden floor of her studio. White lettering on black background, reminiscent of chalk on a blackboard, the posters reveal intimate and everyday moments in the life of the artist. Some will feel they're intruding in her space, some will feel the thrill of the voyeur viewing someone's personal things.
"Some are meant to be seen singly, but others should be seen one after the other," says Fleur. Those intended to be seen in sequence are obvious and others seemed to be random; but all should have an effect on the viewer. "I wanted people to feel," she says.
"I've always wanted to put some posters in the world and it turned into this big project of 21 artworks, rather than a poster saying something. The Women's Network does this incredible work, helping women, and I really respect that, and this work is trying to be reflective of women's experience, in my case, a woman, me, a snapshot of my life over the past year, but also common women's experiences.
"I'm going to sell some of these and 10 per cent of it goes to the Women's Network. I really believe in what she's doing."
Fleur did not realise it was going to turn into such a soul-baring project.
"They're all from my diary or texts people have sent me," she says, "They are very personal and private."
She says the process has been organic. "It came from adoring Carla and wanting to help her - not that she needs help. I've wanted to do a poster series for about seven years ... "
Fleur's in a good space in that she doesn't care what emotion she or her work evokes, as long as it's something. "There's a lack of self-consciousness about [the poster project], it's just written. If you state who you are, openly, it feels strong to do that."
A Creative Communities grant has helped Fleur fund the project.
¦Fleur Wickes Artist Studio - The Open Door Studio Tour is on Saturday, February 21 from midday until 2pm.