Much of the impetus for Tracey Walker’s work comes from a concern for, and appreciation of, the unique nature of the New Zealand landscape.
The diminutive and ethereal landscapes which form part of her works have a primeval or untouched quality about them, as if neither man nor animal has yet impacted the singular beauty and forms of the land.
While in some respects the artist appears philosophical about the relationship between humankind and nature, at the same time she subtlely reminds us of the way beautiful tracts of the country are, at the stroke of a pen, consigned to the fate of bureaucratic circumstances and impersonal housing and industrial estates.
Rightly or wrongly bureaucracy and development seem to conspire against the land.
“Many of my artworks are concerned with developmental chaos, a consequence of the thoughtless subdivision of the New Zealand landscape. The image of the barcode and associated numbers are abstractly incorporated to represent New Zealand being divided."
Walker uses many processes to bring these elements to our attention. Using a base of aluminium, the artist applies a bed of thick black paint as a counter to the rich, translucent and almost fleeting landscapes. Carving deep into the black ground, Walker reveals strong linear patterns which act as symbols for the vast network of sub-divisions with their roads, telephone lines and cables cross-crossing the country.
The definitive maze-like patterns symbolise the making of choices. Developmental or environmental choices made in relation to the land in the present day, will impact on the pristine nature of our country, positively or negatively, for decades to come.
Thin but prominent red lines appear randomly over the surface and signify barriers or danger – the danger of both complacency in relation to preserving the environment, and over development.
Viewing Walker’s works ultimately reminds us that the timeless grandeur of the landscape is something uniquely tied to our identity as New Zealanders and is therefore priceless and worth preserving.
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