peter madden

Coming
from all the
places you
have never
been
PETER MADDEN
Coming
from all the
places you
have never
been
PETER
MADDEN
1
front cover image:
Corona, 2010
found images &
mixed media on glass
the university of
auckland art collection
2
PETER
MADDEN
Coming
from all the
places you
have never
been
Coming from all the places you have never been is a survey of Peter Madden’s creative
practice over the last decade, bringing together thirty works from public and private
collections around the country. Madden is a prolific artist, a master of the art of collage and sculptural assemblage, with a rapidly growing reputation in New Zealand and
Australia. His work is held in numerous public collections including Auckland Art Gallery,
Christchurch Art Gallery and Queensland Art Gallery. It is dramatic, visually beautiful
and intensely detailed but always playful, enchanting and compelling. This survey reflects
the remarkable variety of his range—from small collages to freestanding sculptures to
assemblages and large installations.
For over ten years Madden has single-mindedly explored the medium of collage
across this range of work. There is a strong connection between his 2D collages and
his sculptures: all his sculptures have a surface of collage fragments, while his wall
collages, especially his recent multi-layered Perspex works, have increasingly become like
flattened sculptures. His work transcends yet celebrates collage. Madden describes his
practice as ‘sculptography’. He uses photographic imagery cut from old books, magazines
and encyclopedias (National Geographic is a favourite) to create fantastical works of art.
The found images are mainly flora and fauna: birds, reptiles, flowers, butterflies, moths,
spiders, snakes, tropical fish and plants. They become extraordinary, intricate collages
and elaborate sculptures embedded with complex ideas and stories.
Madden’s work is entirely handmade; each piece takes many hours to create. Using
a scalpel he deftly slices the images out from their background: ‘Like an unlicensed eye
surgeon, ever so carefully I cut along the edge.’1 He enjoys the slow, painstaking process
and loves to ‘liberate the photographic fragments from their original snap-and-capture
setting, and reposition them in the space of art.’2 Some of these photographic fragments
3
are mounted on layers of transparent sheets of Perspex or glass, some are mounted on
wires to become fantastical three-dimensional constructions, while others are mounted
in overlapping layers to become intriguing collage-based portraits. He then preserves
the cut-out books and magazines intact so that the carefully incised pages can become
artworks themselves.
Madden uses found objects in his work as well as photographs: the object acts as a
kind of material support, a scaffolding for his profusion of collaged imagery. A chair from
his studio, for instance, becomes covered in foliage, a pair of worn leather shoes is filled
with paper butterflies, an animal head sprouts roses and orchids, a reclining skeleton is
covered with moths and butterflies.
Madden first began exploring the possibilities of collage after a visit to New York
in 1997 where he visited various post-photography exhibitions—a Marcel Duchamp exhibition and an exhibition of gilded Aztec artefacts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
But it was a retrospective of pioneering German photomontage artist, Hannah Hoch,
that had the most dramatic impact and inspired Madden to radically change his practice and begin working with collage. ‘The possibility of having a photographic practice
through collage just clicked. It just so happened that someone had left a box of National Geographic magazines lying around and one night I started making collages out of
them.’3 Ever since, Madden has continued to perfect and expand his collage-based practice.
National Geographic has remained a favourite source of imagery—stockpiled in his small
studio is a vast collection of old issues. For Madden, the magazine’s pseudo-scientific
photojournalism, a product of white American culture, is all about photography’s power
to control the gaze.
As Madden’s photography-based practice has evolved it has become increasingly
4
complex, less conceptual and more poetic. With the abundant, tiny details and overthe-top profusion of imagery in his collages, Madden manages to create a sense of scale,
grandeur and drama. Everything seems to be alive. What is unique about Madden’s
practice is his treatment of space. Where his early work tended to be small, simple and
flat, his more recent work tends to be larger and more transparent and experimental. His
recent large-scale collages on Perspex, for example, have become increasingly intricate
and sculptural: he mounts his cut-out imagery on both sides of a sheet and then layers
up to five or more clear sheets within a frame so that the fragments appear to float in
space, creating an astonishing illusion of depth.
Madden tends to work in series, often based on the materials he uses. He has produced a series of ‘chair’ works, spanning collage and assemblage. For Madden the chair
signifies a place of reflection and contemplation: ‘In my works, the chairs are, in part,
about me sitting in my studio, thinking and making art.’4 Though he prefers to source his
imagery from books and magazines rather than online, in his series of collages on Perspex he investigates the notion of the digital screen. ‘In this age of the image, the screen,
rather than the book, is where we are confronted with so much imagery.’5 He has created
a series of multi-layered Perspex works where the cut-out paper imagery expands from
the centre in a complex circle to become like mandala-shaped cosmologies. In another
series he has created table-top dioramas of imaginary miniature cityscapes, 3D universes
with skeleton buildings covered in a profusion of collaged imagery. For Madden, each
city represents an idealised fantasy world, a fictional place created without restrictions
or boundaries. ‘I wanted to develop a big idea over a long period of time, not unlike a
writer developing a novel.’6 In 2007 Madden began a series of paintings on dead flies: ‘I
like what I can do with the flies installation-wise.’ 7 For his installation Lord of the Flies
5
at Michael Lett Gallery, he covered the walls of the gallery with masses of dead flies preserved with glue and gesso, meticulously painted with images of skulls, spiders and flags.
He has recently created a series of works on black and gold skeleton forms embellished
with thin branches covered in butterflies and mushrooms, giving them a sense of lightness, and a reminder that death is simply part of the cycle of life.
Madden’s idiosyncratic practice has been variously described as surreal and
baroque. He acknowledges as influences Michael Parekowhai and Merilyn Tweedie, his
teachers at Elam, as well as overseas artists such as Marcel Duchamp and Joseph Beuys.
Madden has also been inspired by a number of philosophers and writers. An avid reader
of South American novels, he is particularly fond of the magical realism of Argentinian
writer Jorge Luis Borges, with its unorthodox, utopian worlds. As Madden says of his city
series, ‘I populate them with everything imaginable and unimaginable, as in a Borges
story.’8 He thinks about his works as ‘time crystals’, a reference to the way his cutting and
splicing of found photographs relates to the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze’s concept
of a ‘crystal of time’.
Madden is careful to leave his work open to interpretation. He deliberately creates a sense of mystery that takes time and reflection to understand. Influenced by the
catastrophic impact of recent global tsunamis and earthquakes, many of his works carry
unsettling messages reflecting his personal ecological and social concerns. Alarmed by the
rapid extinction of the world’s flora and fauna, Madden uses an abundance of images like
shoals of tropical fish, flocks of birds and clusters of butterflies and moths to comment
on the fragility of our relationship with the natural world. There is often a darkness, a
shadow aspect to Madden’s practice, a fascination with death and transformation, even
a sense of impending disaster. However, it is always balanced by a sense of beauty and
6
poetry, often with an undercurrent of humour: ‘there’s a seriousness about what I do
but I always downplay it.’9 His work is laden with symbols: moths and butterflies are
favourites, reminders that life is beautiful but fleeting. Skulls, flies, rotting fruit and
other symbols from the 17th-century European Vanitas tradition of painting abound in
his work, reminders of the impermanence of life and the inevitability of death. His skull
works, especially his floral skulls, recall the Mexican Day of the Dead Festival where skulls
are decorated with flowers and blessed, symbolising both death and rebirth.
While the use and translation of photographic imagery, arguably one of the most
influential developments in the history of contemporary art, is the most important
aspect of Madden’s practice, also important is the practice of recycling everyday materials
into art. A multimedia recycler, he has a passion for visual recycling and has managed to
create a sustainable art practice from recycled materials, mainly paper. This is a deliberate strategy that accords with his philosophy of social responsibility. ‘A resourceful New
Zealander, I reuse and make my work with a simple economy of resources—no special
technologies are involved. Everyone can do it. I see my role as an artist as creating a
different economy out of society’s detritus.’10
Pataka is delighted to present this first major survey of Peter Madden’s work, which
over the past ten years has attracted considerable critical acclaim. Madden first exhibited
at Pataka in 2004 and has since participated in a number of exhibitions, most recently
Secondlife: five artist projects in 2009. Coming from all the places you have never been showcases the full scope of his practice and reveals an artist fascinated with visual spectacle,
darkness and beauty.
Helen Kedgley, curator & director of pataka
7
endnotes:
1 Artist statement, 2008.
2 ‘Orgasm and Trauma: Peter
Madden, Peter Madden talks to
Robert Leonard’, Peter Madden
(Brisbane: IMA, 2011), 84
3Ibid.,83
4 Madden, P. 6 April 2014.
Personal communication
5 Madden, P. 6 April 2014.
Personal communication
6Ibid.,87
7Ibid.,90.
8Ibid.,90.
9 Ibid., 86.
10 Madden, P. 8 June 2009.
Personal communication
opposite:
Autumnal, 2013
found recorder &
mixed media
collection of the
james wallace arts trust
overleaf, left:
A Woman’s Past, 2012
found images & mixed
media on board
private collection,
wellington
overleaf, right:
A Man’s Past, 2012
found images & mixed
media on board
private collection,
wellington
8
opposite:
Crouches with Moths, 2010
found object, mixed
media & collage
collection of
christchurch art gallery
te puna o waiwhetu
12
opposite:
Leave, 2004
leather shoes &
found images
chartwell collection,
auckland art gallery
toi o tamaki, 2004
overleaf:
The Sparrow’s Mind, 2013
found object & mixed media
courtesy of robert heald
gallery, wellington
14
opposite:
The Leaving, 2008
mixed media, found
images & Perspex
chartwell collection,
auckland art gallery
toi o tamaki, 2009
18
Secret of Ants, 2011
hand-gilded prefabricated
skeleton & mixed media
collection of the
james wallace arts trust
20
opposite:
The Distance Dust
Travels, 2012
found images & mixed
media on Perspex
private collection,
wellington
overleaf:
The Unbuilt Realm of
Indeterminapolis, 2001–3
found objects &
mixed media
collection of the
james wallace arts trust
22
PETER MADDEN was born in Napier in 1966. He completed a Bachelor of Visual Arts
at the Auckland Institute of Technology, Auckland (1992–95) and then a Masters of Fine
Arts at Elam School of Fine Arts, Auckland University, Auckland (2002–04). His work
has been included in numerous important exhibitions including Snake Oil at Auckland Art Gallery (2005), Escape from Orchid City at City Gallery Wellington (2006) and
Blue Planet at Christchurch Art Gallery (2009). Madden has participated in a number of
exhibitions internationally including Remember New Zealand at the Sao Paulo Biennale
(2004), Unnerved: The New Zealand Project at Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane (2010)
and his solo exhibition, Come Together, at the Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane (2010).
Madden lives and works in Auckland.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2013 Tomorrow is just another name for today, Robert Heald Gallery, Wellington
2013 Breathing Dreams Like Air, Ivan Anthony Gallery, Auckland
2013 Art Basel Hong Kong, Ryan Renshaw, Brisbane, Australia
2013 We’re there already, Ryan Renshaw, Brisbane, Australia
2012 The Distance Dust Travels, Robert Heald Gallery, Wellington
2012 Ravaged Ground: The Morning After, Fehily Contemporary, Melbourne, Australia
2012 You Have Changed Me Already, Ivan Anthony Gallery, Auckland
2011 Future Heights, Robert Heald Gallery, Wellington
2011 Closer Stills and the Veil of Want, Ryan Renshaw, Brisbane, Australia
2010 Empire of Rest, Robert Heald Gallery, Wellington
2010 Come Together, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia
2010 Melbourne Art Fair, Ryan Renshaw, Brisbane, Australia
25
2009 My Own Private Idealogue, Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne,
Australia
2008 Slices in a Disappearance, Incisions across a Paper Sky, Michael Lett, Auckland
2008 Sillycuts, Ryan Renshaw, Brisbane, Australia
2008 Zeroed, Gus Fisher Gallery, Auckland
2007 Cutlass, Michael Lett, Auckland
2007 Clear Cut, 64zero3, Christchurch
2006 Escape from Orchid City, City Gallery Wellington
2005 Silk Cuts, Michael Lett, Auckland
2004 Forever Present, Michael Lett, Auckland
2001 Gone, Space Miyamae, Tokyo, Japan
2000 Spectacle of Holes, RM212, Auckland
1999 Plane of 1000 Cuts, RM3, Auckland
1996 Vermiculation of Freedom in Theatre of Love, Fiat Lux, Auckland
1995 Tears of Eros, Teststrip, Auckland
Bibliography
dan arps, ‘We Are All Made of Stars’, New Zealand Journal of Photography 55,
Winter 2004, 22.
sarah farrah, ‘Sleight of Hand’, Escape from Orchid City
(Wellington: City Gallery, 2006), 3–6.
sue gardiner, ‘The Unbuilt Realm’, Art News New Zealand, Autumn 2004, 52–3.
tessa giblin, ‘Enduring Eternity’, Peter Madden: Forever Present
(Auckland: Michael Lett, 2004), np.
26
tessa laird, ‘Peter Madden: Cutlass’, Eyeline 65, Summer 2007–8, 57.
tessa laird, ‘Far from the Madden Crowd’, New Zealand Listener,
26 November–2 December 2005, 47.
sarah stutchbury ‘Peter Madden: Image Liberator’, Unnerved: The New Zealand
Project (Brisbane: Queensland Art Gallery, 2010) 91.
veronica tello ‘Peter Madden: New Work’, Art World,
December 2008–January 2009, 60–3.
Collections
Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
Chartwell Collection/ Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland
Ergas Collection, Canberra, Australia
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
The James Wallace Arts Trust, Auckland
Christchurch Art Gallery, Christchurch
27
list of works
The Unbuilt Realm of
Indeterminapolis, 2001–3
found objects &
mixed media
Butterfly Book
(aka The Missing), 2007
found object &
found images
Golden Retriever, 2007
found images on foam core
Leave, 2004
leather shoes &
found images
In the Wake of
Destruction, 2007
collage
chartwell collection,
auckland art gallery
toi o tamaki, 2009
collection of the
james wallace arts trust
chartwell collection,
auckland art gallery
toi o tamaki, 2004
Ram Mount, 2004
found object &
found images
chartwell collection,
auckland art gallery
toi o tamaki, 2004
Golden Bat, 2005
found object & metallic foil
collection of the artist
collection of the
james wallace arts trust
collection of the
james wallace arts trust
Side Table On, 2007
collage
collection of the
james wallace arts trust
Chair, 2007
collage
collection of the
james wallace arts trust
Butterfly Book, 2007
found object & collage
private collection,
auckland
28
collection of the artist
The Leaving, 2008
mixed media, found
images & Perspex
The Open Ended Problem
of Many Worlds on the
One Space, 2008
found images, mixed
media & Perspex
collection of the
james wallace arts trust
Dispersion: Post
Disaster Day 3, 2009
found images, watercolour,
resin & Perspex
private collection,
wellington
Crouches with Moths, 2010
found object, mixed
media & collage
collection of
christchurch art gallery
te puna o waiwhetu
Them (Misfit), 2011
found images & mixed
media on soft board
mounted on marine ply
private collection,
wellington
Corona, 2010
found images &
mixed media on glass
Secret of Ants, 2011
hand-gilded prefabricated
skeleton & mixed media
Sea, 2010
book, clamps & collage
on Perspex plinth
Walks with Moths
(at Night), 2012
found object & mixed media
Empire of Rest, 2010
found images &
mixed media on glass
The Distance Dust
Travels, 2012
found images & mixed
media on Perspex
the university of
auckland art collection
courtesy of robert heald
gallery, wellington
the university of
auckland art collection
collection of the
james wallace arts trust
courtesy of robert heald
gallery, wellington
private collection,
wellington
A Woman’s Past, 2012
found images & mixed
media on board
private collection,
wellington
A Man’s Past, 2012
found images & mixed
media on board
private collection,
wellington
You Are Never Far From
My Thoughts, 2012
found images, watercolour,
resin & Perspex
private collection,
wellington
Folio, 2012
found images, wood
& Perspex
private collection,
auckland
29
Autumnal, 2013
found recorder &
mixed media
collection of the
james wallace arts trust
The Sparrow’s Mind, 2013
found object & mixed media
courtesy of robert heald
gallery, wellington
Assorted flies from
Lord of the Flies installation,
2007–2014
dead flies, gesso,
watercolour & resin
collection of the artist
A child imagines
a future, 2014
found object & mixed media
collection of the artist
Small Island World
(maquette), 2014
collage & mixed media
collection of the artist,
courtesy of ivan anthony
30
opposite:
Walks with Moths
(at Night), 2012
found object & mixed media
courtesy of robert heald
gallery, wellington
31
Published in August 2014 for the exhibition:
Coming from all the places you have never been
Peter Madden
at Pataka Art + Museum, Porirua
31 August–23 November 2014
All text © individual authors
All artworks © the artist
Apart from fair dealing for the purpose of private
study, research, criticism or review as permitted
under the Copyright Act, no part of this publication
may be reproduced without prior permission.
Curated by Helen Kedgley
Printed by Service Print Ltd
Cnr Norrie & Parumoana Streets
PO Box 50218, Porirua City 5240,
New Zealand. www.pataka.org.nz
Pataka gratefully acknowledges
the support of Sir Roderick &
Gillian, Lady Deane.