I had interesting conversation with Emma the other day, when she came up to visit the studio. She asked me whether it mattered to me where my artwork went, did I care whether it went into a beautiful interior. My response was long and involved… she probably got more than she bargained for asking me that question…

In short, what I said to her is that what matters to me is connection. That someone connects to the work, that they feel something when they look at it. That the artwork a person chooses is a touchstone for something beautiful and true in their life/self - perhaps the artwork acts as an object to spark memory of something that matters to them, that has touched their heart deeply.

Of course, I’m not sad if someone happens to put their artwork into a visually beautiful setting… but the connection someone has to the work is so much more important. It makes no difference to me if my artwork lives in a dodgy student flat in Dunedin or a flash apartment in Parnell. Some of the best art collections in the world live in modest houses with stellar art packed onto the walls.

The reason I do my work is for connection, not decoration.

When I was a child, there was this tv show, 3,2,1 Contact. If you’re of a certain age, you’ll remember it and the song. “Contact is the reason everything happens.” I haven’t seen the show for about 40 years but I can still hear that music in my head.

And what is more important than contact? One human touching another, by mouth or hand or artwork or word. It’s what makes this life worth living.