Gerard Crewdson - Mysterious Creatures - New works on paper

This exhibition ran from 15 April - 15 May, 2021

"The things of this world are not all as sayable and graspable as people usually want to think; most of what happens is unsayable, unfolding in a space no word has entered, and the most unsayable
of all are works of art: those mysterious creatures whose life endures, alongside our own life, which is so fleeting."

Rainer Maria Rilke "Letters to a Young Poet" 1903

In a career spanning over 40 years, Gerard Crewdson has developed a highly personal artistic, theatrical and musical practice.

The history of Crewdson’s interdisciplinary activity begins in Wellington in the late 1970s where, first as a visual artist/dancer/story teller, and then as a tuba player, he was a part of The Braille Collective. Performing original compositions with an emphasis on non-standard musical structure and collective improvisation, Crewdson expanded his brass arsenal to include trombone, trumpet and Eb horn.

In 1986, Crewdson moved to Sydney where he undertook formal study at the Sydney College of the Arts, developing printmaking and paper-making processes using plant-based and recycled materials to create sculptural work. During this time, he created public performance works with a pointed emphasis on political critique and intermedia experimentation. He played an active part in Sydney's burgeoning noise and experimental scenes and worked with environmental/anti-war performance group The Bare Earth Blasters. In Sydney Crewdson also performed frequently with The Sydney Splinter Orchestra, a large electro-acoustic improvising ensemble.

Back in Wellington since 2005, Crewdson has continued working across music, story telling, visual art and theatre. His output is vast, including his stunning Cinema of the Poor performances for which he paints visual narratives on huge scrolls which he 'projects' from his specially crafted cardboard box cinema.

For "Mysterious Creatures" Crewdson adapted a work made for an exhibition at Audio Foundation in 2016 called "Lost Worlds", as well as new work on paper.