Jason Greig
Master of Reality
On arranging a meeting with Jason Greig at his house and studio in Lyttelton he advised me to bring a torch as the pathway at night was lethal. He wasn’t wrong. On the ascent to his house, perched atop a hill overlooking the harbour, illumination was essential. I could hear my destination before I saw it; bone shatteringly good operatic metal music greeted me from the base of the hill. Greig was in the midst of a feverish making cycle, fresh prints were littered around the studio. Attention was torn between the prodigious CD collection and a laden plans chest. We began with the chest, a treasure trove of finished monoprints, trials and first runs through the press, which Greig generously emptied drawer by drawer. Notes, clippings and photographs were pinned to the walls. Around the outer edges of many of the prints are words and bits of sentences which sometimes make it into a title, but most often lie hidden under the matting of the framer.
There is an intensity to Greig’s works that catches you off guard. His technical prowess as a printmaker is immediately impressive, but what elevates these works to something truly magical is his willingness to push the medium, to run a print through the press so many times it is on the verge of disintegrating to get the right velvet black or azure or crimson background. The textural markings littering the surface are juicy and evocative. This is the real deal. These works make your heart race with their visceral potency.
His subject matter mines a dark, rich terrain. In the exhibition we are greeted by isolated figures: Isis II (2006) menacing with clenched fist and Icebreaker (2006) lost in reverie, who are strongly sexual yet quite ambiguous as to their gender. Brother and Cleaner (both 2005), two well-attired gents in oval surrounds, on closer inspection have some form of disfigurement or are in the throes of decomposition (a case of the flesh reflecting a poisoned soul?). Devil-like creatures are found in Hellrider (2004) and Jailbreak (2006), while the hooded figure in Eye of the Whale (2006) keeps us guessing as to its internal form and purpose.
Greig draws inspiration from the work of past master printmakers such as Giovanni Battista Piranesi and Francisco de Goya, and from the work of French Symbolist artist Odilon Redon. While his work references a myriad of historical, literary, art and musical influences it is utterly contemporary and rooted within a New Zealand context. The much-discussed New Zealand Gothic is investigated here, particularly the idea of the man alone, battling his inner demons and railing against an unforgiving rugged landscape.
Heather Galbraith
Jason Greig artist bio:
Born Timaru, 1963
Lives and works in Lyttelton
Diploma of Fine Arts (Honours), University of Canterbury, Christchurch
Selected solo exhibitions include: 'The Devil made me do it', Christchurch Art Gallery, Christchurch (2006); ‘Black September’ Hamish McKay Gallery, Wellington (2005); ‘Miscreant’, Brooke/Gifford Gallery, Christchurch (1995); ‘Discovering head’, Marshall Seifert Gallery, Dunedin (1987).
Selected group exhibitions include: ‘Coming Home in the Dark’, Christchurch Art Gallery, Christchurch (2004); ‘Opening Exhibition’, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Dunedin (1996); ‘Hangover’, Govett-Brewster Gallery, New Plymouth and tour (1995); ‘Four Christchurch Artists’, Claybrook Gallery, Auckland (1992).
Image credits:
Jason Greig
Brother 2005
monoprint
Private collection, Wellington
Eye of the Whale 2006
monoprint
Courtesy of the artist and Brett McDowell Gallery, Dunedin
Hellrider 2004
monoprint
Courtesy of the artist
Wake up dead 2005
monoprint
Private collection, Christchurch