Voyaging

“I found this panel on the rocks, at the southern end of Lyall Bay in Wellington. It was an exciting find. Both the surface texture and the worn outline of a boat are exactly what I hunt for on shorelines. Maybe it was once the floor of a dinghy as the cutout for a centreboard would suggest. The mystery of its origins and travel thrills me.

The panel hung around in the background of my Wellington space for a few years, until in 2022 I brought it down to Lyttelton. Locational relevance is important to my inspiration, and I suddenly had a very clear vision of what I wanted to do with it.

The little dinghy’s floor became a painting of a big ship. We don’t know if it is arriving or departing. The cargo is also unknown.

This piece references progress and global consumerism, and the timelessness of sea travel.”

Sue Dorrington (SMD)