Tauranga Art Gallery - Toi Tauranga

What happened to The Farmer? - 20 Apr 2010

The Farmer is the much anticipated sequel to The Farmer's Wife, an exhibition by John McLean held at Tauranga Art Gallery in 2009.

At the close of the last exhibition, McLean's audience was left wondering what happened to both the Farmer and his Wife, after she abandoned him for a Traveller. Now, The Farmer picks up the story of what unfolded and how their lives panned out, and can be viewed at the Gallery from Saturday 24 April.

“Both exhibitions are about journeys,” says Gallery Manager Penelope Jackson. “Not only for the characters in the exhibitions but also for the artist himself.”

Having grown very attached to his characters in much the same way as a novelist would, McLean says he was sad to see the conclusion of his characters’ story.

“On the one hand there was the understandable relief at having tied the show up; but on the other hand there was a sense of sadness as I cleaned off the palette and stood before the final image of The Farmer and the Farmer’s Wife together. It has been a long journey that I have taken with them over the last 2-3 years and today felt like a farewell.”

The storyline is age-old, based on the romantic liaison between two lovers who part and eventually return to each other. McLean works in a pseudo Surrealist style and so his work is a literal narrative, with layers of symbolic associations that are open to interpretation by the viewer. In addition, McLean is a sculptor and so his painted characters have a chiselled look about them.

Originally from Tauranga, McLean attended Tauranga Boys’ College where he was taught art by Edward Bullmore, one of New Zealand’s earliest Surrealist artists. McLean now works full time as an artist from his home in remote Urenui, Taranaki, where the landscape plays an important part in his work. Being a keen fisherman, his understanding of the sea and the differing properties of sea and fresh water, is apparent in his work.

The Farmer can be viewed at Tauranga Art Gallery until 27 June. John McLean will give a floortalk on The Farmer at 11am, Saturday 24 April. Entry by gold coin donation.