Local artists exhibit “A Celebration of Elemental Life” at the Suter
Golden Bay photographer Lethea Erz and artist Ngang have combined the colours and expressions of nature’s beauty and energy in their current exhibition entitled Nature & Spirit: A Celebration of Elemental Life in Paintings and Photography at Nelson’s Suter McKee Gallery.
These vibrant works explore “the spirit in nature” and “the nature of spirit” through the elements of earth, air, water, and fire (light), say the artists.
In preparation for the exhibition, Lethea mounted and framed her own 42 images.
“This is the first time I’ve done all that myself, including creating the shadowbox frames, and it’s quite a learning curve but I’m enjoying it.” Her image series includes 3D, Elemental Earthforms, Elemental Uluru (from the centre of Australia), Floral Essences, Glistening Waters (reflections of boats in still harbours), Te Hapu (Golden Bay’s west coast), and Elemental Inversions, in which several scenes in other images have been digitally “inverted” to their complementary colours, akin to creating a photo negative.
“Just like a 110V-240V inverter changes the power of electric current, these colour inversions completely change the energy of a natural scene,” Lethea comments.
A photographer since high school, Lethea only began exhibiting her images in 2006. Lethea began exhibiting her images in 2006, after a varied career as educator and scholar, writer, communication consultant, professional storyteller, therapeutic harpist, performing-recording musician, and social activist. Lethea has produced three photographic calendars of Golden Bay and Farewell Spit and her photographic greeting cards are sold in several Golden Bay outlets.
Lethea says that through her photographs she explores the subtle interplay of light and shadow, pattern and contour, colour and texture within natural scenes combining earth and water, and light and space.
NgAng’s works in this exhibition range from his award-winning Sacred Aum Mandala to Rush Hour, a depth-and-movement-filled abstract depicting commuters in a Los Angeles train station – a painting that draws responses like “I usually don’t like abstracts, but I ‘get’ this one.” There’s a multi-layered “spirit portrait” of his friend Ana, a qi gong teacher and earth mother,” along with landscapes from Golden Bay and America’s Grand Canyon, which he visited in 2009.
NgAng has exhibited his paintings in Australia since the late 1970s, and in New Zealand since 2002. His 16 works on display are characterised by an enormous diversity of styles and subject matter and meticulous attention to composition, colour, detail, light and shadow. Several have won awards.
NgAng’s and Lethea’s work is also displayed at Elemental Arts in Rototai. The Suter exhibition runs from 19 January to 7 February, 10.30am–4.30pm daily at 208 Bridge Street, Nelson.
Ina Holst
