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Lakes District March 6 2002
First artist-in-residence at Punatapu
Steve Wilde
 One of New Zealand’s leading contemporary Maori artists is the first artist to take up residence at Punatapu Lodge near Queenstown. John Bevan Ford accepted the invitation of Punatapu’s owners Sue and Pat Farry to live in a specially restored muster’s hut and purpose built studio during the summer period. Ford has created a series of artworks that reflects the history and natural beauty of the area and present on paper the spiritual feeling that is Punatapu. The 71 year old artist is recognized as a leading force behind the renaissance that has occurred in Maori art during the past generation. The collection of works in the Punatapu series uses pigmented inks incorporating a fault line that runs under Lake Wakitipu and through Mount Hanley, which stands behind Punatpu Lodge. Each artwork is made up of thousands of lines which incorporates several motifs, including birds, which symbolize the migration and reflect the areas historical movement of people.
Last year Ford was invited to participate in the fifth Chancghun International Sculpture Symposium in China. Using his experiences from China, Ford has used the crane in his work as a bird that represents youth and endurance, and represents the Chinese involvement in the area stemming back to the gold-rush days. The pine tree is also used as a motif, representing longevity. Ford regularly acknowledges the power of nature in his work and this is represented by the fault line in the Punatapu series. It was while Ford was discussing the fault line and what it meant to his work to some visiting American tourists two weeks ago, that the earth began to shake. Not surprisingly the two Americans purchased the two paintings.Ford said he was grateful for the invitation to become the first artist-in-residence at Punatapu. “The environment here is outstanding, sharp and clear and wonderfully positive” Ford said.
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