The salusalu (or lei) is an adornment made of leaves or flowers and is placed around the neck. Commonly worn in the islands of the Pacific it is used to mark an occasion of greeting, farewell, appreciation or recognition. The reworking of the salusalu in my artwork pays homage to the original plant material and shows my interest in paper as a contemporary art medium. Now back in New Zealand my leaf arrangements of Vanuatu are being replaced with New Zealand natives as well as introduced species. I have been collecting fallen leaves from bush tracks in Southland to study and recreate as paper leaves. The pieces are then strung together and presented within the confines of a frame, using a western tradition of display.
SALUSALU CIRCLE, 2011
Sculpted paper, paint, wire, glue, flax and shellac
SOUTHERN AUTUMNAL SALUSALU & BLUFF HILL SALUSALU, 2011
Sculpted paper, paint, wire, glue, flax and shellac
This is my ‘Funky Chicken’ — made for the Southland Festival of Arts SPCA fundraiser. Local artists and school children created life size chickens or roosters. These were displayed around Invercargill in the windows of local retail stores, the Southland Museum and even at Queen’s Park animal enclosure. The chooks were then auctioned off in a silent bid auction to raise money for Invercargill SPCA’s Animal Ark project.
‘JOHN POULET — PACIFIC ROOSTER’, 2011
I've been going through a postcard phase — inspired by the Macandrew Intermediate Artquest 'Snail Mail' exhibition. Most images have been of landscapes, mainly viewed from the car as I drive between Otago and Southland provinces.
PAINTED POSTCARDS, 2010/ 2011
Watercolour on paper, mounted on primed MDF
I have been exploring sculptural ideas around the theme of leaves, mainly croton leaves (Codiaeum variegatum). These leaves are often used in local custom and ceremonies in Vanuatu, in the form of 'salusalu' and other body adornment. The 'giaman lif' or 'liar/fake leaves' are made from printmaking paper, sculpted, painted, then sealed. 
KALA LIF STAR, 2009
Sculpted paper, gouache and shellac
KALA LIF WEAVE, 2009
Sculpted paper, gouache and shellac
GIAMAN LIF, 2009
Sculpted paper, gouache and shellac (with real leaf on left)
KALA LIF assemblage (detail), 2009
Sculpted paper, gouache and shellac
When in Vanuatu I started drawing again, with an emphasis on pencil portraits of local Ni-Vanuatu.
Pencil Drawings, 2009
Assorted life drawings in charcoal and pastel.
TORTOISESHELL CAT, 2004
Coloured pencils on cartridge paper
