John Wishart’s exhibition Abandoned Works consists largely of sculptural pieces, and was originally displayed at the Southern Institute of Technology’s Raw Gallery in Waihopai. The title of the exhibition centres on the concept that an artwork is never wholly completed, but is rather abandoned at a certain point in the lifecycle of its production. Serving as glimpses of the in-between, the sculptural artworks examine fragmentary moments of time, and how environments are reworked physically, socially, and culturally.

The exhibition was inspired by the discovery of found objects washed ashore from the remains of the Ocean Beach Freezing Works (1892–1991), known by locals as ‘The Beach’.

Wishart’s sculptural fragments highlight his want to mimic and preserve the story of transformation. Through the seemingly aged, corroded, and fragmented pieces of factory debris, Wishart examines the ocean’s memory, and presents the remnants as artefacts which act as static points in time and capture the gradual deterioration of abandoned objects, as well as the ocean’s transformative force.

This exhibition is presented with support from Community Trust South, DIY Museums, ILT Foundation, Southland Art Society and Southern Institute of Technology.

Opening | 26 May 2021 | 6 pm
Exhibition available | 27 May – 23 July 2021

Images |

Main | John Wishart, Ocean Beach Series, Plaster & Sisal, 2008

Left | John Wishart, Into the White, Plaster, 2019

Photography by Chris Macdonald