Newspaper Article 2007 – Artist changes focus on world

Artist changes focus on world

Political comment infuses Bill Kearns’ work, says MARIA PRIESTLY

Broken egg shells lie scattered on Ocean Beach. The shattered shells are a sharp contrast on the colourful shoreline- sharp surreal, but somehow beautiful.

“When people get together with their opinions and things get going . . .  there’s going to be casualties – someone’s going to lose,” Bill Kearns says of the theme behind his photo titled Broken Shells – Ocean Beach.

The Havelock North photographer and artist’s latest works are showcased in Memories, a new exhibition on at Statements Gallery in Napier featuring work by local artists including Leslie Falls, Suellen Gifford, Ruth McLean and Esther Smith.

Two of Bill’s exhibited photos feature Ocean Beach scenes, with his signature style of multiple exposures on film – with no creations or enhancements on computer.

Bill who until last year had worked as a news photographer for more than 30 years on the (former) Hawke’s Bay Herald-Tribune and the Dominion Post, says the Ocean Beach photos are his first foray into making political comment with his art.

The photos refer to the proposed developments at Ocean Beach and the ensuing battles between the opposing sides.

Windows of Deception – small church-like windows painted white and again superimposed over an Ocean Beach scene – is about “building values. Ocean Beach, at the centre of debate in the community, is a special place for many of us – but you feel a bit helpless.

“To have any real influence, it seems you have to have a lot of money.”

Although these works are political, the large scale photos with juxtaposed images stand out, draw you in and leave room to interpret the theme in your own way.

They also have a strong surrealist quality – one of Bill’s biggest artistic influences, inspiring many of his works.

From an early age Bill had an “appreciation of the humour” of surrealist painters including Max Ernst, Salvador Dali and in particular Belgian painter Rene Magritte – specifically Magritte’s famous The Treachery of Images or Ceci n’est pas une pipe (This is not a pipe) painting. Magritte’s work frequently displayed a juxtaposition of ordinary objects in an unusual context, giving a new meaning to familiar things.

“In the newspaper world, you’ve got to take the picture that catches someone’s eye. It’s got to stand out. A lot of what I do now still comes from that.”
Bill Kearns

With Magritte’s witty and unusual work as an ongoing inspiration and Bill’s own quirky touch, his works will “always have an element of humour”, he says.

Badge of Honour is a “tongue-in-cheek” take on the hardworking Kiwi bloke’s work ethic.

In keeping with the old school-kid pastime of wearing bottle tops on your t-shirt as badges, Bill juxtaposed Tui beer bottle tops with old woolshed wooden panels.

“Us Kiwis, if we work hard, we’ve earned the right to crack open a few Tuis. We’ve earned our badge of honour.”

Old paraphernalia – wooden panels, old pipes, redundant machinery – is a recurrent theme in Bill’s works: Nostalgia from throughout his life, including from his school days at Hastings Boys’ High School and the afternoons where he’d work on various farms as a farmhand.

Bill is also grateful for the many years and many skills he gained from his previous job.

“In the newspaper world, you’ve got to take the picture that catches someone’s eye. It’s got to stand out.

“A lot of what I do now still comes from that.”

Since his first camera at age 10 (a Kodak Box Brownie), photography has been part of Bill’s life.

“You look at the world with a more critical eye.”

Photo caption – ON VIEW: Havelock North artist Bill Kearns with Windows of Deception – Ocean Beach, one of his multi-exposure, limited-edition.   PHOTOGRAPHER: DUNCAN BROWN HBT973438-04.jpg