I have always found solace in the forest. one of my earliest memories is hiding in the native bush block of fern, totara, and rimu forests behind the school i lived opposite to. Running across the length of the school in anticipation to enter the bush, scrambling at the gate to unlock the infinite joy of green, infinite green. It is no surprise to me then, that some twenty years later i find myself still depending on nature is sanctuary.

It is through this relationship of dependency that i create my work, this need to pay reverence to a gift i am getting so much for. This is the way I typically think about reaction is to this compelling sensation within me, is to make something in response to that.
Aoraki, the first shrine I made using this method of trying to translate vision information, is the manifestation of this.

Throughout the past month in lockdown, i have attempted to approach all my art making practices whilst using this method. Below are a few examples of this approach.

Another thing that has been of great use to me in this time has been devotional chanting, a few of the songs I have been listening to during this time.

These videos are a part of my youtube playlist that has been on repeat since the beginning of the lockdown “music for art making during a global pandemic”, which has proven to be very useful in this time!

The embroidery works have been killing me, to be quite honest. I don’t have my embroidery loop with me, so it has been difficult to keep tension throughout making them. But when it is possible, I will be interested to see them stretched. In total, the blue of the lake in the Aoraki portrait has taken me about 30 hours, and it can be frustrating to look at such a small part of the fabric and see it completed, only to compare it to the rest of the image waiting to be filled in.

I hope everyone is taking care through these bizarre times!
Stay safe, and stay positive!

Wes
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