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Hooked on a feeling
As we're all painfully aware, database searching is not always a straight-forward or precise operation.
Even so, I was a little surprised when, having punched in 'love' as a February 14th-motivated subject search on the Gallery's Collection Online, the first image that came up was this one.
Trevor Moffitt Bait. Linocut. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, reproduced with permission
Not that a dead fish, neatly skewered and about to be cast over the side to hook bigger game isn't, on some level, an appropriate metaphor for contemporary romance – but still.
A quick check of the work description, which highlights the artist's love of fishing, explains things, but it's an example of the slightly random and unpredictable connections often thrown up by Collection Online, many of which are just as enjoyable and satisfying as the results you were anticipating.
For a Valentine's Day-inspired selection of works from the Gallery's collections, see the 'All Loved Up' My Gallery set here.
At 12:09 PM on 14/02/2012, Andrew wrote:
Interesting choice adding the Grant Lingard work to the All Loved Up set: an over-zealous application of cupid's arrow perhaps?
At 1:00 PM on 14/02/2012, Felicity Milburn wrote:
Far be it from me to exclude a hint of bromantic desire from the day's celebrations! Plus, I enjoyed how Lingard's homoerotic 'trap' connected (loosely, I grant you) with Moffitt's hooked-up fish. Don't forget, you're very welcome - nay, enthusiastically encouraged - to make your own choices by creating a personalised My Gallery set...
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