Sea and Shore: Flow and Motion Exhibition
Sea and Shore: Flow and Motion Exhibition
Christina McGrath and Ian Preece
Ian and Christina worked together on the Creative Coromandel Partner Up programme last year when they decided to pair up and host a joint exhibition.
“As artists we are both passionate about and inspired by nature and in particular the ocean. Our use of media and interpretation of the subject however is very different creating a engaging experience. We felt that the commonality and the contrast of our work would be an inspiration to us both and hopefully provide an enhanced experience for our visitors.
An important point for both of us is to increase the appreciation of our natural world, especially at a time when we are facing increasing threats to that world,” says Ian.
To paraphrase David Attenborough, “You cannot value something you haven't experienced and you cannot protect something you don’t value”.
“We are really pleased to be exhibiting at the Driving Creek Gallery. As a purpose-built gallery, it is an ideal space for running an extended exhibition over a number of weeks. This gives the artists time to plan and the public more opportunities to visit.”
Christina is a resin and fluid acrylic surf and ocean artist. She adores surfing and the powerful elements that the sea offers. Her work encompasses the artistic and fluid elements of wave formations and shoreline expressions. There is a soulful element in every piece and you can feel and sense the water in her work. Rich and pure colours shining with resin, polished shades of blues and naturals stand out on her recycled surf boards, wooden tables, big and small rounds and all sizes of framed and natural canvases.
Currently living in Tairua, New Zealand, she integrates her love of nature into her surf retreats, yoga, wellbeing and creativity workshops.
Ian is a photographer of the natural world and primarily the Coromandel, New Zealand. “Im fascinated by the movement of water; the way that a still two dimensional image can convey the perception of depth and movement through the use of tone, colour and contrast. We have a very emotional relationship with the sea. I consider an image successful if it conveys something of that emotion to the viewer. In this exhibition I'll be sharing new works taken in the Coromandel, Great Barrier Island and Ohiwa exploring that theme. These works are exhibited on different media as they can highlight different aspects of the image.”
Ian is based in Kuaotunu and runs on location photography workshops in the Coromandel Peninsula and Great Barrier Island.
Sea and Shore: Flow and motion exhibition at The Driving Creek Gallery in Coromandel Town will open on Friday, 30 December from 4pm to 6pm and runs from Saturday, 31 December to Sunday, 15 January - open from 10am to 6pm every day. Christina and Ian will be on site during the exhibition. Both artists are featuring new work and all works are for sale. Entry is free. Ian - https://ianpreecephotography.com Christina - www.swellfitliving.com