Page 58 - Annual Review 2008

58 / RESOuRCES
The Horn of Africa, by New Zealand Maori artist
Michael Parekowhai, is one of the most significant
works purchased for the Pacific collection to date.
Spectacular in appearance and complex in its allusions,
the sculpture exemplifies Parekowhai’s ingenious
practice. Part of a series, The Story of a New Zealand
River, the work interrogates some of the captivating and
intertwined pakeha and Maori histories of New Zealand.
The work’s title alludes to the Eastern African peninsula,
thought to be one of the areas where humans first
emerged. More locally, Parekowhai’s sculpture
abstractedly resembles the cartographic form of
the North and South islands of New Zealand.
The piano could be seen as the culturally and politically
top-heavy North island, whilst the South island is
playfully represented by a seal, evoking a wild and
uninhabited place.
miCHAEl
PAREKOWHAI
The Horn of Africa 2006
Michael Parekowhai /The Horn of Africa 2006 / Automotive paint, wood, fibreglass, steel, brass
/ Purchased 2008 with funds from the Queensland Government’s Gallery of Modern Art
Acquisitions Fund in recognition of the contribution to the Gallery by Wayne Goss (Chair of
Trustees 1999–2008) / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery
Charles Blackman’s visits to Queensland figured
prominently throughout his long and distinguished
career. In early 1948, Blackman hitchhiked to Brisbane,
where he met the young artists of the Miya Studio, the
Barjai writers, and his wife-to-be, Barbara Patterson.
While in Brisbane, Blackman viewed Sidney Nolan’s
exhibition of paintings, inspired by Fraser Island, at the
Moreton Gallery. He and Patterson moved to Melbourne
in 1951. Barnes Auto, Brisbane and another work in
the Gallery’s Collection, City Lights, were painted in
Brisbane the following year, and show the influence of
Nolan’s paintings. These striking images link Brisbane
avant-garde artists and writers of the 1940s and 50s
with their southern counterparts.
Barnes Auto was, for many years, the only location
in Brisbane where you could buy petrol after hours.
Previously located at the corner of Queen Street and
North Quay, Barnes Auto Co. continues its business
today in the suburb of Rocklea.
CHARlES
BLACKMAN
Barnes Auto, Brisbane 1952
Charles Blackman / Barnes Auto, Brisbane 1952 / Oil on composition board / Purchased 2008
with funds derived from the gifts of Maria Therese Treweeke, Lady Trout, SH Ervin, Sali
Herman, Sir James (Robert) McGregor, Robert Wilson, Captain Neil McEacharn, Naomi and
Simon Bracegirdle and Oscar Edwards / Collection: Queensland Art Gallery. © Charles
Blackman 1952. Licensed by Viscopy, Sydney, 2008