Alan Pearson

Tasman Presences

Alan Pearson travelled to the Buller region of the West Coast of the South Island in the winter of 1993. At 12 Mile, north of Greymouth, the surf landlocked the artist between the waves and the forest and he focused on the tidal energy, that pounding West Coast surf which is a relentless force of creation. Works are illustrations of the human condition, a wistful yearning, a whispered hope for the survival in the midst of this relentless force, symphonic depictions of energy. Pearson uses the repetitive wave motion like a musical bar structure which is placed vertically and then animated to create a pantheistic chorus line. This work is unique in its significant scale, but with its raw, rugged application of paint and dramatic red-black palette, is clearly grounded in this series of work.