Clockwise

Bringing together the talents of Shintaro and Yoshiko Nakahara, 'Clockwise' presents a unique body of collaborative paintings.  The Japanese-born husband and wife duo each have successful independent artistic practices, having gained degrees in Fine Art in Tokyo prior to their emigration to New Zealand.  Despite possessing obviously disparate working styles, Clockwise demonstrates the intensity of the pair’s partnership, their respect for the practice of the other and the balance / compromise required to give physical form to the mental collaboration taking place between them.  The artists describe this process as signaling the emergence of a ‘third artist:’ their respective practices combine to produce singular works which remain distinct entities in themselves. 

Over the long process of the work’s making, Yoshiko’s very fine ink drawings provide the base for Shintaro’s acidic and strident colour formations; these are then often reworked again by Yoshiko to produce the distinctive and highly detailed finish of the artworks.  As the two work independently, yet on the same canvas, they attempt to hold in their minds the other’s dreams, thoughts and intentions; thus the process becomes a kind of mutual reconstruction and can lead to surprising and previously unimagined imagery.  The unique reflections of two minds together elicit contrasts of striking beauty, depth and dimension. 

(Footnote: Helen Kedgley quoted from 'Double Vision: When Artists Collaborate', Pataka Museum of Arts and Cultures (2010), p. 9)