William Hunt
Artist William Hunt with one of his favourite pieces. Photo: Supplied.
Wainui resident William Hunt has made himself into an artist. Originally a printer by trade, William was most recently employed at the Tui Bee Balm plant. He has been studying art extramurally and entering his work in art competitions, and now he has an interesting exhibition at Takaka’s Dangerous Kitchen.
“I knew other people who had studied through The Learning Connection art school in Wellington,” says William. “It’s very good, supported learning. I’ve always been interested in art and I’m at the age now when I can take the chance to chuck in my job, take off in a new direction and commit a lot of time to something.”
William’s favourite medium is wax crayon, and he says that his mentor at The Learning Connection tells him he may be the only person on the planet working the way he does.
“He has told me to keep going, exploring the medium and making new discoveries about what it can do. I build the crayon up on the surface, rub it, scrape it and sometimes half melt it,” he says. “I find it’s helpful to be not wedded to the result. I’ve learned to let go of things and enjoy the process of making art.”
William says that the process also involves quite a lot of self-discipline and time commitment, and that he enjoys giving a new life to things that have been discarded by others.
“At times I’ve used old pallets and plastic wrap from the boys at ITM, wooden shelves and polystyrene building materials. I really like making art on fridge doors, too. One of my favourite works in the current exhibition is on a fridge door. I reproduced the effect of little animal stickers using melted crayon chips.”
The works in William’s exhibition show his interest in a number of motifs and the textural possibilities of crayon. He is in the process of moving 12 of his pieces to his next exhibition, at the De Luxe cafe in Dixon Street in Wellington. He says that discovery and delight are important parts of the artistic process for him.
“I’m looking for that childlike non-attachment to the result.”
William’s exhibition in the Dangerous Kitchen continues until 23 July, when the Dangerous closes for the winter.
Neil Wilson
