PAINTING WITH PAPER
After successfully completing two years of study at Ilam School of Fine Arts - 1989-90, Chris became ill from exposure to pesticides during a summer holiday work experience. As a result he experienced acute Chronic Fatigue Syndrome which lasted twelve years making him unable to complete his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. “My artistic development was very much put on hold during this period however, since making a full recovery, the tangent of my artistic development has been plentiful with many unexpected discoveries.” Chris has gone on to achieve a BA from the University of Canterbury, majoring in Sociology, which he finished in 2005.
A bit of a ‘magpie’ character, Chris collects discarded materials, old magazines and children’s books. His inspiration comes from the potential aesthetic beauty of our transcient/throw-away culture as well as ecological awareness. The likes of Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol have much of Chris’ admiration due to their ability to use mundane objects and squeeze artistic beauty from them. “I am very indebted to Picasso and Braque as they were both pioneers in integrating collage into their works and helped raise awareness of collage as a serious art form within western art.”
