Steve Carr, Senior Lecturer in Film at the Ilam School of Fine Arts, had his artist’s residency at the McCahon House, unexpectedly extended by the COVID-19 lockdown.
The house, in Titirangi, is where Colin McCahon lived from 1953 to 1960, a period which encompassed the watershed of his career as a painter, both chronologically and in terms of his artistic evolution.
The McCahon House Artists’ Residency, named Parehuia by local kaumatua Eru Thompson in 2008, is amongst the most prestigious artists’ residencies in New Zealand. Three residencies a year, each of three months duration, are available to outstanding professional artists. Artists receiving the residency live and work in the purpose built French Bay house with attached studio. Steve Carr was 2020’s first artist in residence, with the other two recipients being Ana Iti and Richard Frater.
Steve explained what the residency meant to him in a letter to the McCahon House Trust, which he has generously shared:
I just wanted to take the time to write a few words in the absence of the planned farewell. As many of you will be aware our family has remained at the residency space during the lockdown period as I became too unwell with the (non-covid) flu to travel before the shift to level 4.
It has been a great honour to receive this award and to have the time and space to develop new works. Working on a residency with children has its own set of challenges, but also its own rewards. I love to think about our boys in the future studying McCahon and reminiscing about their time spent in the treehouse where Colin and Anne lived. This has been and will always be a very special time for us as a family. Ironically the extended stay has shifted our perspective on the place. My proposal for the McCahon Residency was around ideas of slowing down, but perhaps now due to a forced lockdown, I have become less concerned with formulating ideas and just living in the space and appreciating the true benefits of slowing down.
This last month has been one of much reflection and consideration on my practice and the ideas that have come to the surface. For me personally, there have been many highlights. The Gate Dinner, the development of a major sculpture project, revisiting my performative practice, developing the McCahon House artist Edition, the Instagram takeover, beach walks, reaching out to patrons, and building relationships with the Staff and Trust.
I will leave this residency with a fondness and an air of expectation that a shift in my making is about to occur. I feel motivated to make work that is bold while remaining quietly contemplative. I have much to follow up on and exhibitions to work towards, this time has been the perfect backdrop for the development of research and practical experimentation. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this chapter, I look forward to continuing our relationships and updating you all on my future endeavours.
