Bill Hammond: 23 Big Pictures

13 May - 13 August 2000 in the Entire Gallery

Lyttelton artist WD (Bill) Hammond spent the 1970s working in design and toy manufacturing, returning to painting in 1981. He has since become one of New Zealand’s most intriguing and delightful artists.

Hammond’s work tackles social and environmental issues, conveying messages about humanity and its status as an endangered species. He first attracted attention in the 1980s by depicting “a regional landscape frayed with neuroticism” in which mutant humanoid figures struggle in a world where they are somehow tied to the landscape but overwhelmed by the detritus of modern urban living—televisions and sound equipment are recurring motifs in these works. The noise aspect inherent in these frenetic pieces is emphasised by their titles, which are often lines from the lyrics of rock songs, such as One for the money, Two for the Show (Elvis Presley) or The Young Designers (The Fall). In the 1990s, Hammond has looked back into New Zealand’s environmental history for his subject matter, drawing inspiration from the study and attitude of Sir Walter Buller.

Buller was a prominent lawyer and ornithologist, whose studies of native birds are still regarded as definitive today. He believed that the native people, plant and birdlife would inevitably be rendered extinct by European colonists. Although he was involved in campaigns to protect some species of bird, Buller did so reluctantly and continued to collect specimens for his own research.

In paintings such as Waiting for Buller, Hammond moves away from mutated forms and renders the birds in a painstaking, accurate manner reminiscent of scientific illustrations. However, these relics of the past are seen in very contemporary surroundings—they aren’t waiting for Buller in their tranquil bush habitat but rather propping up the bar at a seedy pub.