Finalist Wallace Art Awards 2019

August 8, 2019 Susan Badcock

John Badcock is a finalist in the Wallace Art Awards 2019.

Held at the Pah Homestead in September

The annual Wallace Art Awards profile outstanding examples of contemporary New Zealand art. Through establishing the awards in 1992, Sir James Wallace’s aim was to foster, honour and support the practices of visual artists. Over the years some of New Zealand’s most prominent artists have entered and the residencies awarded to the winners have transformed their careers. Past winners have included Andy Leleisi’uao, Yuki Kihara, Mark Braunias and Judy Millar.

Source: wallace art awards 2019

Forever Young →

March 19, 2019 Susan Badcock

2019 sees Susan Badcock on an intensely ironic journey as she explores the techniques of 19th century portraiture, interlacing her latest series with commentary on the excessiveness of disposable 21st century society.

Unashamedly confronting and personal, Susan has adopted and adapted classic black and white portraiture techniques, photographing her own daughter while questioning the future she will face.

“In an increasingly reckless society enamoured by consumption and waste, our children face an uncertain future. Yet they bear our burdens and carry our glut with wisdom and dignity beyond their years.” – Susan Badcock

The result is a raw and unmasked series that toys with the viewer. Trompe l’oeil comes into play with ironic and disposable accessories adorning the child. Cheap beads, plastic sunglasses, an iridescent slinky and even a bath sponge are her play things. Yet this is a child on the brink of transitioning to womanhood. Soon her toys will be disposed of, both literally and figuratively, as she evolves to the next stage of her life.

In a society obsessed with image and immediacy, Susan’s portraits are refreshingly organic and encouraging. In sharp contrast to the visual story-telling and physical perfection that today’s society has come to expect of young women, this is a photographic series of intimate exploration into the depths of the girl. It is soulful and unforced, authentic and arresting.

“We exploit ourselves in social media, telling the world about our fake lives and masked beauty.” – Susan Badcock

The resulting series is one of empowering tension as the values, morals and techniques of yesteryear vie for attention and worth in modern society.

Words by Pip Goldsbury

Finalist Wallace Art Awards 2018

October 4, 2018 Susan Badcock

John Badcock finalist Wallace Art Awards September 2018

Source: wallace art awards 2018

Finalist Wallace Art Awards 2017

September 12, 2017 Susan Badcock

Influenced by the musings of contemporary figurative artist, Francis Bacon, and as a development of Inverse Two; 2016, I allow the paint to speak for itself; the joy being in the paint and the painting and in the deconstruction of the human form.

My recent works have been described as a blurring of sculpture and painting, whereby series of blind drawings have evolved into painted reconstructed planes that force the unexpected to become the expected. I take the concept further in this work; the blind drawings are completed on my iPad.

In this work, I see a reflection of myself at the conclusion of a day in the city. I am a contradiction of energy and fatigue, strength and fragility, the traditions of paint and the advances of technology. I am frazzled yet I am spirited. I may be older and I may be rural, but I am progressive and I am current.

John Badcock

Finalist Wallace Art Awards

April 22, 2017 Susan Badcock

While bearing his trademark application of heavily applied oil, John has blurred the line between sculpture and painting. Brawnier than ever, the works defy their compact size, bursting from the wall in powerful crags and chasms of unexpected colour, at once soothing, but often challenging. Blood reds meet intense teals while acid limes, muddied greys and calming ochres combine in an opus of intensity and joy. Physically weighty, the works are emotionally uplifting and hopeful.

Influenced by the musings of artist Francis Bacon, John has allowed the paint to speak for itself. The joy is in the painting and the skilled deconstruction of the human form.

“The paint, then, means to make visible that otherwise remains invisible.” Francis Bacon

Unlike Bacon’s post-war themes of savagery and grotesque allusions to brutality and death, John’s work celebrates life. There is a sense of hero worship emerging from John’s portraits. A masked man gallantly reconstructs to save the day while another evokes memories of childhood innocence and purity. The result is an unexpected peek into John’s psyche.

Subconsciously drawing on the art of the early twentieth century, John has applied his own interpretation of Cubism to the portraits. Broken shards of facial features taken from a long series of blind drawings have deliberately evolved into painted reconstructed planes, forcing the unexpected to become acceptable and normal.

“Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.” Pablo Picasso