
Rocky Bite, 2024, acrylic on canvas, 760 x 760 mm
Photo Credit
Rocky Bite, 2024, acrylic on canvas, 760 x 760 mm
Photo Credit
Firm friends Neil Frazer and Craig Potton were mutual admirers of each other’s work for years before they connected. Separately, the pair have spent decades exploring, and creating work inspired by, Aotearoa’s remote and moody coastlines – Neil with his energetic, textured paintings that seek to instil a sense of awe, and perhaps even vertigo, in the viewer, and Craig with his hushed photographs, freezing these majestic processes, seeking to contain their power and magic in a frame. So, despite the differences in their forms of expression, this collaboration makes perfect sense – both artists are speaking the same language. These works could only be made by people who love and respect the ocean, and who feel a sense of responsibility to encourage others to see what they see.
In All At Sea, we find a combination of Neil’s paintings and Craig’s photographs, forming a visual tribute to the natural landscapes of New Zealand’s South Island, particularly the coastal areas north-west of Nelson. The pair made several trips together, and alone, to capture the beauty of the area. They started at Wharariki, exploring enormous sea caves – “beautiful, strange places you’d never find unless you knew where to look”. They also visited Punakaiki Pancake Rocks. This is the artists at their best. There is a focus to these works, and an added depth brought about through collaboration and exploration. There are subtle changes in their approach to representing familiar subjects – the drone piloting skills of Michael, Craig’s son, proved very useful in allowing Neil to switch perspectives and paint from the ocean, looking back at the land. The conversation between the two artists is such that your immersion is never broken when moving between paintings and photographs, rather, the experience is intensified as the artists explore similar ideas from different angles, both physically and theoretically.
Firm friends Neil Frazer and Craig Potton were mutual admirers of each other’s work for years before they connected. Separately, the pair have spent decades exploring, and creating work inspired by, Aotearoa’s remote and moody coastlines – Neil with his energetic, textured paintings that seek to instil a sense of awe, and perhaps even vertigo, in the viewer, and Craig with his hushed photographs, freezing these majestic processes, seeking to contain their power and magic in a frame. So, despite the differences in their forms of expression, this collaboration makes perfect sense – both artists are speaking the same language. These works could only be made by people who love and respect the ocean, and who feel a sense of responsibility to encourage others to see what they see.
In All At Sea, we find a combination of Neil’s paintings and Craig’s photographs, forming a visual tribute to the natural landscapes of New Zealand’s South Island, particularly the coastal areas north-west of Nelson. The pair made several trips together, and alone, to capture the beauty of the area. They started at Wharariki, exploring enormous sea caves – “beautiful, strange places you’d never find unless you knew where to look”. They also visited Punakaiki Pancake Rocks. This is the artists at their best. There is a focus to these works, and an added depth brought about through collaboration and exploration. There are subtle changes in their approach to representing familiar subjects – the drone piloting skills of Michael, Craig’s son, proved very useful in allowing Neil to switch perspectives and paint from the ocean, looking back at the land. The conversation between the two artists is such that your immersion is never broken when moving between paintings and photographs, rather, the experience is intensified as the artists explore similar ideas from different angles, both physically and theoretically.