\u201cMy whole thesis was based on the art of architecture, and the threshold between the two, and using architectural drawing as a way of telling a story or conveying meaning or creating allegory.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of Wilkey’s works, Prevailing, which features in the exhibition. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
He worked as an architect for a year after university before taking a design job for Vesica in Hawke\u2019s Bay, working on large-scale art installations. He is the current creative director of Vesica.<\/p>\n
Wilkey paints mainly at night, after his fulltime job and helping his partner put their two young children to bed.<\/p>\n
A family tragedy a few years ago has been part of his focus on landscapes, despite a background in architecture.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2022, I lost my dad to suicide.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat really spurred me in this direction, and really is sort of the basis of what I do, trying to understand his passing but also the sense of presence and absence that is embedded in the landscape through memory,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is this desire to observe that presence in the landscape that is unseen and beyond the senses.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of Wilkey’s works, Home Ground, which features in the exhibition. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
He said he loved Hawke\u2019s Bay\u2019s incredible landscapes, which often featured in his work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fascinated by the colours, the way the light falls and the stories that are embedded in the landscape,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI get inspired by it every time I drive around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wilkey is a self-professed \u201cfootball nut\u201d, having lived in the UK until he was 9, when his family moved to Hawke\u2019s Bay.<\/p>\n
His art often includes sporting elements.<\/p>\n
\u201cSports are kind of these spaces or environments where we set and agree upon rules, and the game takes place.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that can be a reflection on how life plays out.<\/p>\n
Wilkey said it had been an honour to exhibit his first solo show.<\/p>\n