Ted's Jersey - an exhibition of paintings and photographs by Barbara Strathdee tells the story of a group of friends
on a tramp into the Arawata River valley in the summer
of 1962. On the trail of legendary prospector William O’Leary
and armed with poetry, supplies and a solitary rifle, the friends’
experience and reaction to the stark beauty of this remote
landscape manifests itself in very different ways.
Strathdee painted these works in 1973. Using fragments of
the poems written on the tramping trip and Ted’s jersey as
a metaphor – Strathdee deftly explores and converses in
different painting styles with a playfulness and wit that runs
counter to the grain of the subject matter.
On show at the Southland Museum of Art, Invercargill until
January 25, 2009.
The set of five postcards of this series is available for NZD 17.50
plus postage - the original artworks will set you back rather more.
Above : portrait of the artist.
