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CULTIVATION STONEWORK BY ROB UPRITCHARD: "Cultivation is the art of growing. Giving things the care and attention they need to thrive. It encompasses two key aspects of life. Growing food and growing minds. The act of cultivation heralds the rise of humanity as we know it. The first people to cultivate the land freed up time from a hunter gather life. Amongst other things this allowed the advance of art. Nowadays essentials are still the same. Without food we are nothing. Still there are some intrinsic differences. Modern food is grown on greater scales and pre-prepared beyond recognition. The modern tools for gathering food are a collection of soulless mass produced items, an assortment of plastic cards, a crappy tin opener and a super market trolley. We are at risk of losing our connection to our food, losing our cultivation. This show looks to a time when we were more involved with our food, a time when we cultivated our back yards, when the tools we used were well crafted. When the produce was planted out and gathered in by hand giving us the closeness and time to appreciate its beauty. Stone (kohatu) is the base of the earth. It builds the soils and determines the lands form. It appears in so many different forms and suggests so many different ideas. Though it is hard it offers an unexpected softness when treated with due respect. I sculpt stone because I love working with it. I have worked with stone for 9 years and constantly feel privileged to be able to work this material". Rob Upritchard |
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