elizabeth thomson

wellington-based sculptor and printmaker elizabeth thomson is fascinated with both the orderliness and the disorderliness of nature. While her wall-sculptures are meticulous, 'high fidelity' productions, her art also reflects a fascination with the ruptures, disjunctions and absurdities of the natural world—hence the element of science fiction, or 'sci-fi', which is never far from the surface.

while thomson's dizzying perspectives and optically challenging orchestrations make us aware of the limits of both eye and rational mind, the materials she uses—blown glass, bronze, zinc, beading, fibreglass—draw us closer to the sculptural qualities of the work, with its hard and soft surfaces, its roughness and smoothness, opacity and transparency.

this extract includes edited text by the city gallery, wellington, new zealand from the catalogue for the show 'my hi-fi, my sci-fi'; survey exhibition travelling new zealand 2006-2007