 John Edgar
Lie of the Land
29 August - 25 October 1998
John Edgar's sculptural pieces focus as much on the changing New Zealand landscape as
they do on the implicit social and cultural changes in our land. In these recent works, as
Dr Rodney Wilson writes in the catalogue introduction, we are invited to consider the
explorations and experiences of seeking and finding a place, of signalling a position, of
constructing a foundation and of making a mark - through stone or flag.
John Edgar was born in Auckland in 1950 and in his early career worked as a research
chemist and a prospector. In 1977 he began to explore the sculptural qualities of stone,
metal and glass and since that time has been a significant figure in the world of
meticulously sculptured stone forms.
John Edgar. Lie of the Land presents a selection of recent work made in 1996-7. With
Edgar’ s characteristic superb crafting, simplicity and elegance of form we are
offered multi-layered works where form and symbolism are seamlessly fused. While dealing
with faulted and tilted geological landforms, binary bar codes or the national symbolism
of the flag and marker, the works in Lie of the Land also refer to social and cultural
concerns well beyond the exhibition space. They draw ideas into the space like a kind of
mental breathing, or the pulse of embodied thinking. As it is sometimes said, things are
visible ideas, and in Edgar’ s works we are encouraged to move from the outer space
of the visible object, through the inner space of the associations aroused by the
symbolism embodied in the titles. The fresh ideas and understandings which arise at the
intersections are sometimes called the third space.
Exhibiting since 1979, John Edgar opened a new workshop at Te Rau Moko, Karekare
in 1992. With stone prospected from Australia, Africa, India and
New Zealand he has used homogeneous and fault free blocks, which
have allowed him to increase the scale of his works. New diamond
faced grindstones also enabled new working methods and contributed
to the creation of these large, elegant and visually stunning
pieces which are simple yet very witty and thought provoking.
This exhibition was held at the Robert McDougall Art Gallery in the Botanic Gardens.
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