معرفی
Steve Carr is a Senior Lecturer in Moving Image at the Ilam School of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury, where he has been teaching since January 2016. His academic appointment is specifically as Senior Lecturer Above the Bar within the Faculty of Arts. Carr maintains dual representation in the art world through STATION galleries in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia, and Michael Lett in Auckland, New Zealand.
Carr's educational background includes:
- MFA with 1st Cass Honours from University of Auckland's Elam School of Fine Arts (2001-2002)
- BFA with 1st Class Honours from Dunedin School of Art (1995-1998)
- Diploma in Teaching from Dunedin College of Education (1999)
Carr's artistic practice centers on material transformation through controlled experiments that manifest primarily in sculpture, moving images, and photography. His work explores seemingly banal events—such as paint-filled balloons popped with a needle or bubbles meeting their demise on cactus tips—captured in real-time, slow motion, loops, and time-lapse. This approach challenges detached spectatorship in our era of visual saturation, encouraging sustained observation and reflection. His fascination with magical moments of material transformation spans a career of over two decades, seeking possibilities beyond linear narratives with subtle, humorous, and sometimes intense transformations as culmination points.
Analysis of Carr's recent 15 exhibitions reveals consistent exploration of material transformation across diverse media. His work demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of time-based media, particularly through slow-motion and time-lapse techniques that reveal hidden dimensions in ordinary phenomena. The 'In Bloom' series represents a significant sculptural investigation using bronze-cast tires arranged as vases with bespoke plantings, examining the tension between artificial and organic forms. His exhibitions consistently engage with perception, temporality, and the unexpected beauty in controlled destruction or transformation.
Carr co-founded the Blue Oyster Gallery in Dunedin and served on Auckland's Artspace board (2002-2004). His work is held in major institutional collections including Christchurch Art Gallery, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, and National Gallery of Victoria. He has exhibited extensively across New Zealand and Australia at venues including Christchurch Art Gallery (2021), Dunedin Public Art Gallery (2021), Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (2020), and National Gallery of Victoria (2019).
Carr maintains an active studio practice alongside his academic responsibilities, with his work represented by STATION in Australia and Michael Lett in New Zealand. His creative process involves collaboration with gardeners, botanists, and other specialists, particularly evident in the 'In Bloom' series where customized plantings interact with his sculptural forms. His teaching in moving image at the Ilam School of Fine Arts informs and is informed by his ongoing artistic investigations into time, materiality, and perception.
