We’ve all picked up feathers at the beach and wondered at their lightness, their colour and their form. Flight feathers tend to be leaner, down feathers softer and more generous in their contour. They have been a recurrent motif in Neil Dawson’s long career as a sculptor. In this exhibition of new work two sculptural forms co-exist: feathers made of polycarbonate, aluminium & acrylic; and ripples in water cast in polyester resin. This is a relationship that is delicate, exciting and transitory – poised one might say…

Neil Dawson has produced many public sculptures throughout New Zealand, Australia, Asia and the UK. These have included representing New Zealand at the Sydney Biennale in 1988 and Magiciens de la Terre, Paris in 1989. Neil produced the Main Entry Artworks for the Stadium of Australia, (a commission involving feathers!) for the 2000 Olympic Games, and installed Fanfare on the Sydney Harbour Bridge for New Year 2004/05. Within New Zealand, major public works include Chalice in Cathedral Square, Christchurch; Ferns in Civic Square, Wellington; and Horizons at Gibbs Farm, Kaukapakapa. Neil was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2004.

Jonathan Smart