In April 2010 I held a solo exhibition on Great Barrier Island. It was a rewarding experience and a satisfying feeling to hang up ten mounted prints (courtesy of PCL IMAGING) that I could stand in front of and feel positive about.

A huge and humble thanks must go to Angela Wright (Ange), for catalysing and allowing it all to happen. She was nothing short of a magical fairy god-mother to me on the island, whose constant oracle like support and guidance is something I will always hold close to my heart, and I will truly be forever thankful for all she did for me. Also my thanks to Farley Crawford who lent me her time and artistic eye whilst grouping and hanging the images, and Christina, who was super helpful and friendly (not to mention my number one patron on the island).

I received a great deal of favorable feedback from the welcoming locals, including a number of the local artists which is always reassuring.

The following images are the ten I chose to exhibit. Four were from my time spent down in Golden Bay in the South Island and six were recently made images from Great Barrier.

Overall I considered it a resounding success! Any opportunity of sharing my art with a new audience is inherently worthwhile and I can't think of a better way to connect and give something back to an island and community which has given so much to me.




       
 
 
             

In October of 2009 I entered an image into the Golden Bay Art Exhibition and was lucky enough to be awarded the 'First Prize in Photography'. It felt quite the honour to have my work (that of an Auckland refugee) recognised amongst the collection of images that was assembled. 

The judges who were all from over the hill and are considered "Nelson art aficionados" were Mike Tasman Jones, Anne Rush and Graeme Cornwell. They took the time to write comments about the winners of each category which I thought was a nice touch:

"Knowledge of Stillness - James Watkins. Exploration of the sublime, the judges came around the corner to a very restful place - very reflective of the Bay. The photographic section was very strong with a range of diverse approaches"

The exhibition as a whole was full of brilliant art works generated by really interesting imaginations. It was particularly satisfying and truly humbling to have my work included in exhibition with art of such a high calibre. It was one of those exhibitions where you feel somewhat over stimulated, as if you don't have enough time to give all the art-works the attention that they deserve.

It was a really refreshing atmosphere with a healthy amount of dreadlocks (beards included), some bare-feet, lots of loose fitting cotton clothing, purple felt wizard hats and plenty of positive, reinforcing words from conscious minds. You really got the impression people were there to give the art it's due respect and were willing to make a concerted effort to absorb it. Ample amounts of delicious food and wine proved a winning combination and the perfect social lubricant for the occasion.

The title 'Knowledge of Stillness' is a reconstitution of a sentiment expressed in T.S Eliot's 1934 poem 'Choruses from The Rock' which really resonated with me:

"The endless cycle of idea and action,
Endless invention, endless experiment,
Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness."

Overall it was a highly worthwhile experience. I met some really interesting and gifted local artists, some of whom are keen to collaborate in future exhibitions with me and all of whom carried themselves with a warm, positive and gracious energy.

  

"In this age of reality T.V and blogging where anyone with an index finger can capture a slice of reality on their digital camera or cell phone and upload to a networking site for the whole world to see. The notion of photography as an art form is rapidly getting lost in a sea of 'I could take that myself attitudes'. Sideroom.com presents 'This is not reality TV' as a chance to introduce you to a group of truly talented artists who have chosen photography as their medium, studying and refining it throughout their artistic careers. Pushing the boundaries of their practice to bring you more than just snapshots on a flicker site and showing us that this truly is an art form to be taken seriously."