Kushana Bush: Glukupikron
Kushana Bush Glukupikron 2020. Gouache, watercolour and metallic gouache on paper. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, purchased with funds from an anonymous donor, 2020
My sister owns a gorgeous Kushana Bush work that I have coveted for some time. I think I had been subconsciously mind-banking her works since seeing it. Then, when I was overseas last year and feeling a little homesick, I listened to an RNZ National podcast of Charlotte Wilson interviewing the artist (Art, Life, Music: Kushana Bush). Kushana’s choice of music to accompany the interview was bliss: carefully chosen pieces by Bach, Satie, Britten, Bayaka pygmies and Jack Body.
This set me on a frenzied search, and I found myself ravenously scouring the internet for images of a work I could get my hands on. I went to exhibitions and searched for months, but in vain – I could not locate the ‘one’ I was looking for. Eventually my energy waned and I stopped searching.
Suddenly, on entering the exhibition Perilous: Unheard Stories from the Collection, I spotted it. Glukupikron sat quietly alongside works by Rita Angus and Robyn Kahukiwa and it was a beauty – a marvellous scene of human and beast tied-up activity set amongst a rocky coast with billowing smoke and swirling water. Meticulous, romantic, exotic and modern. Some friends of mine were inspecting it and I sidled up with a faux casual interest that hid my astonishment. How did that get there? I guess it’s no surprise that the Gallery is far better at finding great artworks than me.
“Why is it good?”, asked my teenager teasingly. “It just is, go ask the curator.”
My search complete, I left the Gallery bedazzled, but empty handed. It might not be mine to possess, but thankfully and luckily, ‘the one’ remains in the Gallery, for everyone to enjoy. A loud round of applause for the anonymous benefactor who supported the purchase.
They are a person of far nobler intentions than mine own.
Related reading: My Favourite
Collection
Kushana Bush Glukupikron
Kushana Bush draws on a range of art traditions in her intricate paintings, including Mughal and Persian miniatures, Japanese ukiyo-e, European frescoes and medieval illuminated manuscripts. Kushana blends these references with disarming and often funny contemporary details, such as branded sneakers and other familiar objects from popular culture, to create mesmerising works with fascinating, enigmatic narratives.
Glukupikron displays Kushana’s distinctive use of meticulous detail, shallow perspective and decorative patterning. Ancient Greek poet Sappho was known for her lyric poetry and used the word Glukupikron to denote the bittersweet nature of Eros – the way love entices you with sweet pleasure but can also cause bitter pain. It is an apt title for this work that is at once tense, comical, alluring and grotesque.
(Perilous: Unheard Stories from the Collection, 6 August 2022- )
My Favourite
Bill Culbert and Ralph Hotere: Pathway to the Sea – Aramoana
My time working at Te Puna o Waiwhetū was strewn with highlights, but key among these is the experience of hanging Ralph Hotere and Bill Culbert’s Pathway to the Sea – Aramoana (1991), which was also my first experience of seeing this work up close and personal. Although not the greatest work or most popular work of art in the collection, this lithograph will always be special to me. I love the sparse aesthetic, the sense of a light touch. The bold decision to not occupy the whole page as the collaborators examine restraint, notations of the relevance of place and connections.
My Favourite
Selwyn Toogood, Levin
I spent much of my adolescence in hospital, confined to bed due to a chronic illness. With a 14" TV beside me, I’d travel to imaginary places via the controller of my Nintendo games console. At the time, I couldn’t imagine walking to the letterbox, let alone experiencing the more exotic places of the world.
My Favourite
Peter Stichbury's NDE
Anna Worthington chooses her favourite work from the Gallery collection.
