Director Shirley Horrocks tracked landscape painter, photographer and Arts Foundation Laureate John Reynolds from the Sydney Biennale to Otago and the Kaipara for this intimate portrait.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2007
Questions for Mr Reynolds 2007
Shirley Horrocks’ documentary profiles one of the most important New Zealanders in the arts today – John Reynolds, the painter, photographer and landscape artist who represented our country at the last Sydney Biennale and was recently made a Laureate by the Arts Foundation. John has a likeable, articulate, exuberant personality, a strong sense of humour, and an original approach to the many areas of the arts that he’s tackled. This intimate portrait tracks him through an extraordinary year during which he creates a huge painted work in Sydney called “Cloud”, re-designs the iconic NZ Swanndri, collaborates with architects to design a hotel in Auckland, tattoos a friend, appears as a character in a popular cartoon series, does Samuel-Beckett-style performances in a bizarre camouflage suit, and makes extraordinary large-scale landscape works in Otago and the Kaipara. With total access behind the scenes, this documentary shows us how John conceives and develops his adventurous projects, and how he manages to combine all this with a busy family life. — Production notes