Artwork
The Five Sages
1998

Artwork Information
Ashley Bickerton’s vision is often that of a
blighted paradise, a profusion of tropical decay.
The heads on the five sages sprout exotic
flowers and rant obscenities suggesting a state
of delusional paranoia.
Since the artist’s move from New York to Bali
in 1993 he has cast himself in the role of the
cultural castaway, shipwrecked in a perfectly
groomed tourist hell – his paintings like surreal
postcards home. (Recent Contemporary Acquisitions, 2002)
- Artist
- Title
- The Five Sages
- Production Date
- 1998
- Medium
- acrylic, pencil and photographs on plywood
- Dimensions
- 1218 x 2440 mm
- Credit Line
- The Auckland Triennial Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, purchased with funds from the Graeme Maunsell and the Lyndsay Garland Trust, 2001
- Accession No
- 2001/27
- Copyright
- Copying restrictions apply
- Department
- International Art
- Display Status
- Not on display
Explore Connections (8)

Heads (representations)
384 Artworks

Faces
111 Artworks

Text
652 Artworks

Flowers (plants)
286 Artworks

Humor
59 Artworks