The Sentinel by Rosina Kamphuis
My passion for the wild and the sublime needed no other colour than the dramatics of black and white. The darkness of charcoal on paper became an exploration of line, texture and thought. The Sentinel evolved, a culmination of a series of works in this medium. It resonates a deep longing for the New Zealand wilderness, the remote, the unattainable and the evocative. It is a poetry of dramatic play, suggesting endless seas of change, reflections mirrored in dark pools, sublime landscapes of the soul where reality and imagination meet, at once dynamic and reflective. The Sentinel was created at a time when the artist was living in The Netherlands, its flat and cultivated beauty a starkly contrasting environment to New Zealand’s wild and rocky shores.
The Artist’s connection to West Auckland
My parents chose immigration to New Zealand from The Netherlands and West Auckland as home, in the 50’s, and from the age of seven I grew up amid the orchards, vineyards and pine trees of early Lincoln road. I wandered all over West Auckland accompanied by my horse and dog, and week- ends were spent in the garden and on the beaches surrounding Henderson. Swimming, walking bush tracks, searching the black sands for shells and driftwood, running across sand dunes and watching the impact of the ocean on the beach, were all part of West Auckland life. Later I danced on the sands at Bethels and Karekare for photo shoots in preparation of a performance of Modern Dance at the Vivien Leigh Theatre in Auckland, where I was a student inspired by dancer and choreographer Harold Robinson. Years later I was to show Tribute, artist book and installation, at Corban Estate Arts Centre, a work that signified human relationships and communications, created in the artist’s studio, again, on Lincoln Road. It was the culmination of my Master of Fine Arts Degree, awarded by Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design in 2003. It was also my tribute to Harold, and to the artist’s book as performance.
Since its initiation my studio is open to the public during Open Studio Weekends in West Auckland, and to art students keen to share in a workshop experience. I am a tutor at Corban Estate Arts Centre, a contributor of poetry for Waitakere City’s annual Montana Poetry Days, and a member of Waitakere Writers, New Zealand Society of Authors. I hold a teaching position at Henderson North School, of which I am a foundation pupil. I am currently working on a new series of solar plate etchings.
Rosina Kamphuis, September 2008
