Two young contemporary artists, each with a distinctively unique practice are showcased in Introducing Marc Blake and Tim Thatcher. A surrealist element is prevalent in both, from Marc Blake’s interrelating animals, natural elements and figures, to Tim Thatcher’s sculptural constructions of items and objects each artist presents strange and wonderful collections of thought and spaces on painted surfaces.

Marc Blake’s figures are grounded in the illusionary space created by shaded wood grain. Mountains, clouds, lakes and grasslands appear as if apparitions from the wood creating a landscape for his characters and objects to exist in. Golden manicured trees sprout from and balloons glide across the painting surface in Everything I’ve Ever known, where a large bright and vivid rainbow joins two opposing panels together. A myriad of figures (mostly wearing face masks) play part in a futuristic ‘shoot ‘em up’, creating scenarios that are all too common in the media of today.

The title Fucking Paradise is both verb and adjective and the subject matter of the work has strong connections to the Pacific. What is tourism really doing for New Zealand? A lone yellow eyed penguin makes his way across the waterfront while a generously sized figure dressed in board shorts looks towards the sea, perhaps thinking about his afternoon swim, or dinner? The ghostly figures of bungie jumpers wearing gas masks plummet through the middle of the canvas. Will tourism still be a major draw-card when the landscape is not?

Environmental issues also manifest in Tim Thatcher’s works - a large tree stump stands where a tree once was and plants are potted and placed within constructed environments.

Rooms, buildings, sculptures and objects appear from rough and raw oil paint. At times the illusionary space is clear, but the illusion is shattered when part of the space has been smudged out or painted over bringing attention to the surface of the canvas and the quality of the paint. In Untitled (Room), a multifaceted room appears, but something is odd about the space, the perspective is skewed and the surface is ruptured throwing out one’s spatial perception and flattening the illusion of space.

Thatcher’s places may appear strangely familiar. Often motivated by a real space, Thatcher manipulates and changes the painted environment until the original space no longer exists. In Void Memorial objects are carefully placed together, creating a shrine-like composition. Everyday objects that could well exist within real spaces have been moved, stacked and manipulated into strange and peculiar and awkward arrangements giving the works a sense of mystery and the viewer a feeling of dislocation.

From precise and translucent graphite and acrylic wash to thick, expressive oil paint, both Marc Blake and Tim Thatcher offer us unique and thought-provoking paintings, showing the calibre of two of New Zealand’s most exciting emerging artists.