Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland-Based Iain Cheesman is primarily a maker of objects that link sculpture with painting, poetry and the concept of drawing. There is often an underlying sense of humour within his work. This is a medium of communication that delivers more than an initial reaction, where there is often a slow defuse of more serious concerns. The materials he uses are diverse and vary between bodies of work. A commonality of his artworks is that they are made by hand and the mark of the handmade is apparent.

Cheesman’s new exhibition Nurture Nature celebrates the act of slowing down and looking. Within the gallery space, painting, sculpture, embroidery, taxidermy and poetry sit together, creating a landscape for the viewer to navigate. Cheesman introduces birds as the focal point of his landscape, and as a bird watcher himself, hopes that the viewer will take on this role of nature observer within the exhibition.

Join us to experience the outside world brought inside, and learn how our ways of looking at nature and art perhaps aren’t so different after all.

Main image: Iain Cheesman, Bird Watcher Watcher, 2023, watercolour paintings. Image courtesy of the artist.

Left image: Iain Cheesman, Bird Watcher Watcher, 2023, bird hide with carved walnut and oak spotting scope, reclaimed English oak panels. Image courtesy of the artist.