Sydney Lough Thompson

The climb up the Hapuku Valley, inland from Kaikōura, is steep and demanding – especially with painting gear in hand. Sydney Lough Thompson was committed to painting outdoors, and one can only imagine the logistics of carrying his freshly finished work back down the valley. Retaining the immediacy and spontaneity of that approach, this small oil on board entered the city’s public art collection in the year it was painted, through an anonymous gift.

(He Kapuka Oneone – A Handful of Soil, 2025)