Paul Johns

All is well

 26 August – 20 September 2008

With an exhibition history spanning three decades Christchurch-based artist Paul Johns’ work has ranged across a variety of media from photography to installation and in more recent years he has worked experimentally with both photography and neon. Conceptually these works draw on the metaphysical and actual properties of light, adding another layer that hint at dimensions that lie beyond tangible everyday realities. This world ‘beyond’ familiar consciousness is a reoccurring theme in Johns’ oeuvre and has included such works as the ‘orgone accumulator’ (This lifeless box may be full of energy) at the Physics Room in 2001.

Comprising seven works including two with a neon dimension, Johns’ latest body of work All is well taps into a domain or state of being that incorporates both earthly and higher realms of consciousness. The title All is well is taken from the Sanskrit word swastika which signifies in addition; good fortune, luck and well being. Johns’ has drawn inspiration from Hindu culture and in particular from the non-sectarian deity Ganesh, the best known and most worshipped entity who is revered as the Remover of Obstacles, amongst other titles.

With customary reduction of excess and studied simplicity, Johns’ evokes a degree of calm and peace that seems at one with the ultimate aspiration Ganesh represents (spiritual union).

Johns has exhibited widely in galleries and project spaces in New Zealand and Australia. He was selected for Telecom Prospect at the City Gallery, Wellington in 2004 and will be participating in the upcoming SCAPE Biennial of Art in Public Places ( Christchurch) in September of this year.