Emmanuel Boyack, Motorik Pulse 2023, photo by Sait Akkirman
Photo Credit
'Beverly Hills, Kingsland' makes reference to an unusual and obscure historical event in Auckland, where in 1938 a group of 84 residents petitioned to rename the suburb of Kingsland to “Beverly Hills”, citing the poor reputation of the name. For local painter Emmanuel Boyack, this episode reflects the Kingsland residents' attempt to overlay their neighbourhood with a dreamlike ontological veneer.
Much of the region was originally swampland which Tāmaki Māori called Ngā Anawai in reference to the water-filled lava-flow caves that formed in the area, created by the eruptions of Maungawhau/Mount Eden and Ōwairaka/Mount Albert.
Boyack's recent paintings blend elements borrowed from the Italian proto-Surrealist art movement Pittura Metafisica (Metaphysical Painting), and Aotearoa New Zealand's post-modern figurative art from the 1970s and 1980s, such as work by artists Brent Wong and George Baloghy. Inspired by early 20th Century metaphysical artists such as Giorgio de Chirico. Boyack's focus on architectural motifs across central Tāmaki Makaurau serve as visual and metaphorical counterpoints to de Chirico's landscapes.
In keeping, Boyack foregrounds the potential of art to recast everyday objects and places as mysterious or mystical, inviting viewers to perceive them anew. This exhibition also features a depiction of the Portland Building, a local Kingsland landmark whose name is echoed in numerous other places.
Boyack's paintings offer a contemporary take on landscape painting set in Auckland which juxtapose unusual points of reference and offer to transport viewers to unfamiliar mental spaces. 'Beverly Hills, Kingsland' resonates as a place at once real and reimagined, here and elsewhere.
Opening Hours
- Tuesday - Thursday: 10am-5pm
Address
- Skar Image Lab
- 1 New Bond Street
- Kingsland 1021
- Auckland
'Beverly Hills, Kingsland' makes reference to an unusual and obscure historical event in Auckland, where in 1938 a group of 84 residents petitioned to rename the suburb of Kingsland to “Beverly Hills”, citing the poor reputation of the name. For local painter Emmanuel Boyack, this episode reflects the Kingsland residents' attempt to overlay their neighbourhood with a dreamlike ontological veneer.
Much of the region was originally swampland which Tāmaki Māori called Ngā Anawai in reference to the water-filled lava-flow caves that formed in the area, created by the eruptions of Maungawhau/Mount Eden and Ōwairaka/Mount Albert.
Boyack's recent paintings blend elements borrowed from the Italian proto-Surrealist art movement Pittura Metafisica (Metaphysical Painting), and Aotearoa New Zealand's post-modern figurative art from the 1970s and 1980s, such as work by artists Brent Wong and George Baloghy. Inspired by early 20th Century metaphysical artists such as Giorgio de Chirico. Boyack's focus on architectural motifs across central Tāmaki Makaurau serve as visual and metaphorical counterpoints to de Chirico's landscapes.
In keeping, Boyack foregrounds the potential of art to recast everyday objects and places as mysterious or mystical, inviting viewers to perceive them anew. This exhibition also features a depiction of the Portland Building, a local Kingsland landmark whose name is echoed in numerous other places.
Boyack's paintings offer a contemporary take on landscape painting set in Auckland which juxtapose unusual points of reference and offer to transport viewers to unfamiliar mental spaces. 'Beverly Hills, Kingsland' resonates as a place at once real and reimagined, here and elsewhere.
