Sam Foley – 'Otira'
The Top Floor, 7th September–9th October 2010
In early 2010 Foley made a research trip to Otira:"My current body of work pays homage to Petrus van der Velden. A waterfall in Otira Gorge, held in the permanent collection of the DPAG, has always been a work that has held a fascination with me from a young age and is a painting I will always return to. By combining a multimedia approach, painting and projecting moving image, I am hoping to create a contemporary retelling of a seminal artwork. The strong composition that places the viewer almost within the river is one that I have often emulated in my own practice but with different subjects. I find I am also drawn to painting forest/native landscapes and to the random patterns in nature and the freedom with which one can take when depicting rhythm within the chaos".