cheesecake with a book on existentialism read by a man in a bed on carpet on a concrete floor on the earth in space with a sun that has set
Using only wood and paint, artist Glen Hayward constructs a wall of concrete blocks to site a series of pre-existing objects in Te Uru’s front Window Space. The recognisable builder’s objects – including a beer bottle, lunchbox, cigarettes and hard hat – point to the mode of their own construction and labour intensive origins. These ubiquitous yet functional items are meticulously recreated as simulations only, rendering them useless and pointing towards the status of an art for looking only. The lengthy title of the work also underlines the light-hearted and illusory nature of Hayward’s practice – where nothing is quite what it seems at first glance.
Glen Hayward is an artist based in his place of birth, Whanganui, and he no longer feels guilt at the use of fly spray. Last year he showed in New York, Hong Kong, Sydney, Dunedin…and he can’t remember where else. He was the McCahon House artist-in-residence in 2011. His Mum’s a go-go dancer and his Dad volunteers packing condoms for the Aids Foundation. He is up to season two of Ray Donovan and really likes/hates making stuff out of wood.
I am a contrarian, too lazy to navigate the world, always disagreeing with the detail and never seeking the content within – Glen Hayward, 2018.