This project was completed for the 100 days project. A nationwide activity bringing people from all walks of life together (via the internet) to create, one thing each day... for 100 days.
In America, the portraits of missing children were printed onto the side of milk cartons in an effort to get their face noticed by the general public. It was used as an aid to create awareness and hopefully find where the kids might have gone. My project encapsulated this concept by painting an image of one of New Zealand's threatened animals or plants onto the side of a commercial milk carton each day, for 100 days. I also attempted to find some text hidden within the logo and printed text on the carton. The text below the image is 'found' text.
the Predator-free series
The displacement of our native wildlife, for agriculture and suburban sprawl, means that the need for a home for each of us (animal as well as human) is becoming more intensified. Left unchecked and with enough resources, populations grow to fill a space and if they continue to expand, those resources become depleted, scarce and the lives of the inhabitants come under threat
exhibit
2016 • Landscape without Birds • (group project)
Completing the 100 days is hard. It is an exercise in consistency - no weekends off, no sick days. One thing produced each and every day for over three months. By the end I was exhausted, but I'd also gained a strong habit of daily commitment to working in my studio. It's also fascinating to scroll through the various and different projects undertaken. In 2016 over one thousand people took part but many, many fall to the wayside along the journey. The project began on the 24th August and was completed on the 1st of December 2016.
It is a sad fact that I had more than enough endangered animals in which to paint. New Zealand has over 4000 endangered plants and species! The boundaries were simple, to paint one a day as a 'warm-up' to my studio time. Not to go back over it and do any repainting once completed.
Along with the daily painting, I began to pick out a sentence from the many words printed on the carton, a saying or sentence that appealed to me, I called this 'found' text
Found text: chur Found text: i am Found text: speak for the trees Found text: a lie is it's own hell Found text: chur Found text: it's still dark as morning calls Found text: love what you do Found text: let me be Found text: tri b the one n laugh well - love life Found text: i wanna crack at a longlife Found text: unless Found text: sea a choice Found text: no ice Found text: choice Found text: space for us all Found text: cash up n go Found text: so late Found text: ciao Found text: grin giggle, go well never die Found text: no time for you 2 slow Found text: glass half empty Found text: omg Found text: tom tit Found text: dragon Found text: little feet run for the hills Found text: bugger Found text: no nets Found text: wait for me Found text: free free free Found text: my last song Found text: not i said the fly Found text: i can stop it Found text: Aaaarggggghh Found text: there is a song in me Found text: life in jeopardy Found text: requiem Found text: a lifetime or another day Found text: quack Found text: i'll say goodbye Found text: Who are we? Found text: a tribe protects its children Found text: anchor me Day 100 and last item in the project Found text: barry ross smith