Jeff Thomson
Mahoe Leaf, 2021
Painted, corrugated steel
700 x 2140 x 100mm
Mahoe Leaf, 2022
Painted, corrugated steel
750 x 2050 x 140mm
Mahoe Leaf, 2022
Painted, corrugated steel
760 x 2200 x 60mm
Mahoe Leaf, 2023
Painted, corrugated steel
780 x 2080 x 60mm
Corrugated iron is the very essence of Jeff Thomson’s working life; he can warp it, manipulate it, delicately fold it, make it dance in his hands. With each Mahoe Leaf, Thomson transforms his signature industrial material into a lace like delicate skeletal leaf form, inspired by the found mahoe leaves that fall on the sculpture trail.
The Mahoe Leaf sculptures fit in to an oeuvre of work inspired by Thomson’s keen eye for objects permeating his surroundings - an interest that first began while walking the small towns and rural roads of New Zealand. Noting and collecting the abundance of highway paraphernalia that littered the roadside, these highway experiences culminated in what would be a life-long interest in the objects we seem to step over, just like the mahoe leaf.
Thomson has changed the popular perception of corrugated iron, and it is now seen not just as a building material, but an art form as well. Certainly, each Mahoe Leaf has a level of fragile detail, along with the careful application of paint dotted sporadically throughout the work, that reimagines the harsh utility of the material. Thomson has often spoken of the single-handed force behind the elevation of wrought iron; taking it off the roof and on to the artistic pedestal. As Thomson himself has said: ”I grind it, I curve it, I stack it, I cut it, I print on it, I even chop the iron into strips and weave it. I’m always conscious of finding new ways of working and using the material.”
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Artist Bio
Jeff Thomson is rather like a modern day Abel Tasman or Captain Cook. He sails freely into unknown seas, making important discoveries en route. "Simply by working with a new material he has enlarged our world." He has almost single handedly taken corrugated iron off the roof and put in on the wall and the pedestal.
And, by the way, he has put it back on the roof again!
Born in Auckland and growing up in Castor Bay on its North Shore a rather shy but outdoors orientated youth left handed and mildly dyslexic, Thomson has become without doubt the Corrugated Iron Man of Australasia.
From an early age he showed considerable promise, developing an ability to draw images quickly with pencil rather than using the written word. This artistic flair was soon picked up and nurtured. When he went to one of Auckland's most adventurous secondary schools, with a strong "Education through Art" tradition, it was clear that the next step was the Elam School of Art attached to the University of Auckland.
Here the young Thomson was exposed to a series of horizon-expanding situations that culminated in a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1981. Curiously his major focus as a student was not sculpture but painting and printmaking.
While taking a break from his art studies in 1980 Thomson found himself at Portobello, 20km out of Dunedin, living in a small seaside crib. It was during this time that a profound change occurred in Thomson's approach to life, art and environment. It came about through the discovery of an ancient pursuit - walking.
While walking the rural and urban miles Thomson started observing and collecting the wealth of highway paraphernalia that he found on our roadsides. These highway experiences culminated in the rural letterbox sculptures, the first body of Thomson's works to gain national recognition by a diverse range of New Zealanders. And it was through this letterbox series of works that Thomson came face to face with his chosen material - corrugated iron.
Literally out of the letter boxes emerged the large body of work for whcih he is now known on both sides of the Tasman.
Corrugated iron animals, birds, cars and people: these works have established Jeff Thomson fairly and squarely in the memory banks of most New Zealanders and many Australians.
I reiterate without fear of contradiction, that he is the undisputed Iron Man of Australasia.
Foreword/Four Words: The Corrugated Iron Man
John F. Perry Director The Bath House Rotorua's Art and History Museum, Jeff Thomson - Any Old Ironby Richard Brimer
