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STYLE | arts 37<br />
brush strokes laden with colour weave a<br />
tapestry where line and colour reveal either<br />
the dynamic nature of a herd of cattle, the<br />
contemplative gaze of an individual beast or<br />
the writhing body of an active dog. Amelia<br />
currently works with acrylic paints, as they are<br />
a less toxic medium now she has a toddler<br />
nearby. This has resulted in the need to work<br />
quickly, making her work looser and more<br />
expressive. These energetic works hang well<br />
in both rural and urban homes, as while they<br />
reference country life, it is in a way that all<br />
New Zealanders can identify with.<br />
Amelia has had no formal art training, and<br />
has an alter ego as actor comedienne, Amelia<br />
Dunbar. Again, the subject matter is rural; dogs<br />
on heat, bitches in their box. The humour<br />
does not take social niceties into account,<br />
since dogs are not governed by the politically<br />
correct. Amelia and her colleagues take their<br />
comedy show on the road, visiting mainly rural<br />
woolshed venues in New Zealand. While<br />
their shows mostly serve to bring some light<br />
relief to the anxieties of country life, they’ve<br />
also been performed in major cities and at<br />
international festivals, again demonstrating the<br />
versatility of her work. Amelia uses different<br />
surnames as artist and actor, but the roles spill<br />
into the other. For instance, the titles given to<br />
her paintings provide clues to her comic self,<br />
as they include Marbled Thighs Doing Aquacise,<br />
They Were All Too Familiar With That Look and<br />
The Movers And Shakers, not titles one would<br />
usually associate with farm animals.<br />
Farming is now a business where valueadded<br />
enterprises are not only encouraged,<br />
but are a necessity. As well as farming sheep,<br />
beef and deer, Amelia’s brothers run a tourist<br />
and ski-hosting business, and her husband is<br />
an apiarist, producing high-quality honey from<br />
mānuka and beech forest pollens. They all live<br />
together on the family property, enriching their<br />
lives where their talents lie. Amelia’s talents lie<br />
with her painting, and when she is not making<br />
art or looking after her young daughter, she<br />
finds time to perform. Everyone has many<br />
strings to their bow, and in the microcosm of a<br />
high country station enterprise, we encounter<br />
the complexities of millennial life. Tradition<br />
and family life is important, but diversification<br />
and innovation is essential to survive in the<br />
modern economy.<br />
Amelia doesn’t take herself too seriously,<br />
and lets her personality shine through in all<br />
her work, whether it be painting or acting.<br />
The overall effect is wonderfully vibrant work<br />
that draws you into her world, one which<br />
celebrates rural life and the joy that animals<br />
can bring.<br />
Amelia will be a guest artist at this year’s<br />
Art in a Garden at Flaxmere, near Hawarden<br />
in late October. As a daughter of North<br />
Canterbury, I am sure her work will be<br />
well-received.
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