Kia ora koutou!
In October I was super fortunate to spend two weeks on the shores of beautiful lake Wānaka as the Artist in Residence for the Wānaka Arts Society's 45th annual Labour Weekend Exhibition.
I got to stay in a cosy cottage with a view of snowcapped mountains, and spend my days focusing on creating and developing my practise for the exhibition at the residency's conclusion. The president of the society also provided me with a mountain bike (thanks Gaynor!), and my gracious hosts permitted me use of their land cruiser, so I also got to get out and explore the region, which is surely one of Aotearoa's most scenic - inspiration was everywhere!
The first week I settled in and powered through the challenge of imaging a wide variety of things for exhibiting. A trip to Diamond Lake Conservation Area turned up some striking lichens and a beautiful silk structure which came together in this micro still life:
Among the Lichens, Peregrin Hyde, 2024
I also took some water samples from the lake and found this neat little ostracod - a microscopic freshwater crustacean that protects its body with a bivalve-esque shell:
Ostracod, Peregrin Hyde, 2024
A enjoyed a wonderful bike ride out around the peninsula to the inlet of the might Mata-Au Clutha River. The turquoise color of the river is particularly striking, and inspired this series of prints made from imaging inks and dyes in open reaction:
Clutha Eddies Series, Peregrin Hyde, 2024
A fond childhood memory I have of Wānaka is visiting Puzzling World, a really cool hall of illusions set within a colourful and funky 70s building. Optical illusions have interested me since, and in my explorations of microscope photography I've often come across some really strange or unexpected tricks of light - like finding a reflection of myself a tiny microscopic bubbles. I spent the last few nights of the first week using goose-necked crocodile clips to carefully place different light sources, lenses, objects and mirrors in three-dimensional space around the microscope, which was trained on a butchered camera lens. That lens reflected tiny images of the objects placed around it, and I'm really pleased with the results - composition is notoriously difficult in microscope imagery, as the tiniest tremor or sigh can send your tiny subjects flying off the stage. Working with the microscopic reflections, on the other hand, gave me much more room to maneuver and I could spend time on honing the composition.
Sculpting Microreflections.
Microreflections Series, Peregrin Hyde, 2024
That weekend I was treated by my wonderful hosts, the Johnstones, to jetboating adventure out on the West Coast - it was such a wild time, thanks Rob & Jean! The final work I produced during the residency was a mihi to this most beautiful region - Te Tai Poutini, a visage of it's dramatic landscape captured in a microscope image of its most precious substance, pounamu:
Te Tai Poutini, Peregrin Hyde, 2024
The following week was busy with some creative workshops - two of which were conducted at Mt Aspiring College, where Art students got to muck around with the microscope cameras and take pictures of their own - and the opening of the Labour Weekend Art Exhibition at Lake Wānaka Centre. There were over 140 artists exhibiting over the weekend, with more than 400 pieces of art!
Beneath my works (printed and mounted by the wonderful PrintArt), I was thrilled to let the audience get hands on with one of the microscopes and a large screen so they could explore the magnificent beauty of the miniscule world around us.
My works on display at the Wānaka Arts Labour Weekend Exhibition, 2024.
I'm really thrilled to have been selected as the WAS Artist in Residence, especially given how left-of-field my work is. I deeply appreciate the support and positive feedback on my art and workshops during my time there. Personally I can't wait to visit Wānaka again sometime soon - especially as I was treated to a beautiful winter wonderland in the last few days - in late October no less...! A massive thank you to the Wānaka Arts Society, and my wonderful hosts Rob and Jean Johnstone for their hospitality and support :)
And so... On to the next thing... which is very soon! Watch this space :)
Thanks for reading
Ngā mihi nui,
P
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