Matthew Carr

Suburban Landscape | Auckland’s Landscape | Houses of Auckland | Buildings of Change | The Places that we Live | Constructed Landscape | Contemporary Construction

This body of work comprises paintings depicting the housing of Auckland through the current times as they transition. From single storey houses with big gardens to compact town houses, the way of living is quickly and drastically changing. This can create more pressure on our existing infrastructure and utilities while providing more places for the growing population to live. 

On walks or as we drive past in our busy lives it is common to see these scenes in our everyday suburban landscape. They can be easily overlooked but are important to how we live and something that affects many of us. 

With these paintings I mean to further understand these issues and bring light to what is so commonly around us. Painting the details of these scenes in an almost photo realistic way is a method that allows us to consider the complicated realities of these places while adding a warm light demonstrates a certain optimism or further change, the natural environment changing with the artificial. Our relationship with nature is always something to consider in these scenes. 

To understand these places they are thoroughly explored and photographed before a select few are chosen to be painted. They are kept close to the photo for accuracy but with minor edits to emphasise particular areas and ideas.

Much of New Zealand landscape painting focuses on the countries’ natural beauty but while so many of us are living in cities it is the immediate landscape that is most important to understand.