Gavin Hipkins

Empire (Beach)

Empire (Beach) by Gavin Hipkins

Artwork Detail

Gavin Hipkins’ photo-collage is an enlarged wood

engraving by renowned English illustrator Anton Lock

juxtaposed with a contemporary urban ‘patch’. The

engraving depicts Kealakekua Bay, the Hawaiian site

where Captain James Cook was murdered in 1779. The detail in the image is obscured by an overlaid woven decal, which appears to be an image of Yama, the Buddhist and Hindu Judge of the Dead. Rendered as the embodiment of death, the serpent’s tail is substituted for hair surrounded by a four-part nimbus in green, gold, black and blue. Instead of being a terrifying image, Empire (Beach) looks like a scene from a graphic Gothic novel.

Title
Empire (Beach)
Artist/creator
Gavin Hipkins
Production date
2007
Medium
C-type print
Dimensions
1700 x 1247 x 63 mm
Credit line
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of the Patrons of the Auckland Art Gallery, 2007
Accession no
2007/30/1
Copyright
Copying restrictions apply
Department
New Zealand Art
Display status
Not on display

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