Present Tense

Present Tense extended the intentions of Wish You Were Here: Postcards from the Red Zone (2013) series with a suite of 10 new paintings depicting post-earthquake Christchurch.

Visitors to GapFiller's pop-up exhibition space, The Inconvenience Store, were invited to nominate 5 of the 10 paintings the felt best represented Christchurch in its present state. Their votes determined the 5 paintings that would become #WishYouWereHereChch billboards.

45 donors generously contributed $5,000 through the Arts Foundation's crowdsourcing site, Boosted, to support the initial production and installation of 5 billboards in Auckland city. For full list of donors and more information please visit: http://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/wish-you-were-here

*Red Zone Home I*. Oil on board, 120 x 68cm

*Red Zone Home II*. Oil on board, 120 x 68cm

*Container Stack, corner of High and Manchester Streets.* Oil on board, 120 x 68cm

*C.F. Cotter & Co., High Street*. Oil on board, 120 x 68cm

*Lichfield Street*. Oil on board, 120 x 68cm

*Corner of Cashel and Manchester Streets*. Oil on board, 120 x 68cm

*Blue Building*. Oil on board, 120 x 68cm

*Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament*. Oil on board, 120 x 68cm

*Christchurch Cathedral, Cathedral Square*. Oil on board, 120 x 68cm

At the time I was working on #WishYouWereHereChch Starship Children’s Hospital had a national fundraiser ‘The Big Egg Hunt.’
I contributed A Shell of Her Former Self originally sited at Cathedral Square then moved to Christchurch City Council offices before travelling to Auckland as a feature work in Starship’s Black Tie Auction.

Royal Egg. A Press photographer sent in this image to Elena Keith, The Big Egg Hunt NZ coordinator, taken outside Christchurch City Council offices. Egg photobomb!