His new exhibition Unapologetically Dazzling opens at Turua Gallery in St Heliers, today. It features a collection of works from his My Wonderful Self, Infinite Bloom, Abstract and Bold Figuratives series.
As part of the Herald’s series “How we make it work”, Camilo and Bray share how they met, how they’ve balanced 20 years of travel and career pivots, and why daily “I love yous” are a non-negotiable.
Lyndon Bray and Maico Camilo with their dog, Harry.
Maico Camilo, 43, artist
I met Lyndon in 2005 when I had just moved to New Zealand from Brazil to improve my English and reconnect with my degree in international business. Back then, art wasn’t even a factor in my life.
Lyndon at that time was working for New Zealand Rugby as an international referee, and when we met, he was injured. We bonded quickly and just as quickly had to learn how to compromise. He was always on the road; he was always somewhere on the globe and not in New Zealand.
But that’s part of having a relationship with a sports person; it’s not easy. They live in a very selfish world, where everything has to be about them at the time. But with Lyndon it was okay, because we were always talking about it, and we were always travelling together when we could.
When we had World Cups, I was always involved. I did four or five World Cups with him, and we had to move to those countries for three or four months at a time.
The relationship dynamic has changed a lot, but we talk a lot, and I think that’s the key for us. Now Lyndon has nothing to do with rugby, which is very good because I have him back. It’s wonderful to actually see him, and I think he’s a lot happier now that he has evolved to a different job, to do something different.
Maico Camilo in front of some of his artworks.
We have to compromise one way or the other, because it’s never going to be truly 50/50, is it? One or the other, both end up compromising for each other, and that’s what makes it work.
So now it’s a bit more about my story as an artist, but perhaps even the reason why I’m a little bit successful now is because of him. Lyndon has given me so much support, and the whole reason why I’m an artist today is because of him.
He has always told me I should paint and made sure I committed to it. But I would think to myself, “Do I have the energy and the brain and the guts to put myself out there to be criticised globally and perhaps rejected?” But he is the most supportive and encouraging person I have ever met.
I love him to death. He’s my best friend, and we do everything together. He is the kindest person I have ever met, and it’s so special being with him and laughing every day. We don’t take life too seriously and make jokes together every day.
Lyndon Bray, 59, retired rugby referee and ex-rugby executive, leadership expert and business owner
I didn’t grow up in a household where we said, “I love you”. In my family, we never used the word love. I don’t remember someone saying to me, “I love you”.
So when I had my 40th birthday, and we’d been together just over a year, I told everyone at the dinner table that what had been special about meeting Maico was that, once we had reached that point where we said “I love you”, we said it to each other every day. To this day, it doesn’t matter what sort of day we’ve had, and it doesn’t matter whether we’ve argued or not; we always say it to each other. It’s opened me up to the use of the word love.
I’ve always admired how close he is to his family; while he’s thousands of miles away from them, he speaks to his mother and his sister constantly. He has that in his family, and I think that’s really special, and he’s brought that into my life.
Lyndon Bray in 2020. Photo / Marty Melville
When we first met, I was in a six-month injury rehab period, so we had the luxury of spending real quality time together over the first four or five months. A few months later, I turned up to do my first Super Rugby game, and he came along to a game and saw it live and realised what it was all about for me.
Then the challenge over those first three years was that I was at the twilight end of my career and I was away more than 200 nights a year; a referee never has a home game. It comes with real challenges in that it’s a selfish career. He very much supported me in my career, and then over time that has transitioned, whereby I feel now that I’m able to support him in his career as what I think is an incredible artist.
The reality is I met him before he grew that career, and so I got to know the person first, and then I got to know his remarkable talent. I always remember sitting in an apartment in Wellington, where he created an artwork that we hung on the wall. I said to him, “Why don’t you do this as a career?”
Later, we agreed to give Maico the time, resources and space to actually give his artwork his full attention and see if he could make a career out of it, and he’s gone and done that.
He’s effectively self-taught, but he was religious about it. A lot of people think it happened overnight, but of course it never has. There have been years of really hard work and dedication, and that is what he brought to it. I look at him, and he gets up in the morning and goes to work. He focuses and dedicates his time.
Talent gets you to a certain level. Natural skill gets you to a certain point, but it won’t sustain your career. Structure, discipline, capability, skill sets, routine.
We both have a really clear purpose in our lives, but our greatest bond is our emotional one. We’re emotionally very close and very connected. To me, that’s the most important thing in a long-term relationship.
Turua Gallery spring exhibition details
Maico Camilo, Unapologetically Dazzling, October 16-28Georgina Hoby Scutt, The Afterlight, November 6-18
10A Turua St, St Heliers, Auckland