Artist’s statement -
I had my first real art exhibition about 5 years ago. Vaughan Gunson and I were in our final year at art-school and somehow a chance had come up for us to show some work at Teststrip. It was by far the coolest gallery in town, but when we were asked to show there we were only given about a fortnight’s notice to come up with the goods. After a gutful of art-school shows this felt like it was a chance to mix it with all the hot young things, a chance to break into the big-time - and I didn’t want to blow it. But stuck in the spotlight, with the stop-watch ticking and all these people watching, the only thing I could think to do was whisper, ‘Hello Mum’.
Mum was amused, Dad was confused - why Mum, why not him?
Plenty of shows have followed that one, featuring a whole lot of the good, the bad and the ugly. The gallery where it all started is gone but not forgotten, and since that window-space I’ve found myself making work to show in Dutch gardens, a southern ghost town, a hotel bar, an old dentist surgery and a whole host of artist-run-spaces following in Teststrip’s footsteps.
That first show lasted two weeks, but this time round my 15 seconds of fame are set to last for nearly three months. I’ve been practicing my lines in front of the computer. Gone is the roughly painted banner - this time I’m saying hello again in style, with a set of oversized letters, a whole lot of computer trickery and a garden to boot. Maybe this time I’ll get the words right...
Press
→ Postcards, Art News New Zealand, Autumn 2003
Ephemera
→ Nicholas Spratt: Untitled (Hello Mum), 2003, exhibition card
→ Nicholas Spratt: Untitled (Hello Mum), 2003, exhibition card