The lost tin
-
Michael Stevenson
b.1964
Title
The lost tin
Details
| Production Date | 1991 |
|---|---|
| Collection(s) | Collection Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth |
| Accession Number | 96/3 |
| Media | Oil on board |
| Measurements | Framed: 1055 x 750 x 30mm; Support: 890 x 598mm |
About
Mike Stevenson was born and raised in Taranaki. His early work such as 'The lost tin' featured rural and semi-rural scenes featuring Inglewood, where he grew up, and other small New Zealand towns.
'The lost tin' is one of a number of unusual still-life paintings Stevenson made in the early 1990s. These often feature icons peculiar to small-town life, such as cigarette packet dogs and community memorials. In the case of 'The lost tin' there is a reference to the custom 'ladies a plate', the task of the women to provide food for community gatherings.
This painting, while showing dishes and other domestic utensils stacked inside a cupboard, also suggests landscape imagery. The painting can be 'read' as two landscape paintings, one stacked above the other. In these, the ceiling of the cupboard and the underneath of the dividing shelf function as cloudy skies, and the mottled surfaces of the back wall depict gently undulating plains. In the foreground, the dishes, trays and tin seem to substitute for buildings or water-tanks on a street-front, and the work can be interpreted as a witty comment on the consumption of landscape by art lovers.
