Patrick Tyman

‘It excited, challenges and extends cultural experiences, and which connects with our people, place and identity.”- Patrick Tyman.

Artist Patrick Tyman creates works comparable to a highly decorated sari – patterns repeat and echo within each composition. After spending formative childhood years in India, it is unsurprising that Tyman’s works express a Southern-Asian aesthetic. Since moving from England to New Zealand in 1966, he was also influenced by the pacific nation’s native flora. The country’s climate, light and lifestyle have helped him further develop his art ideas, with New Zealand’s landscape feature flora and fauna integrating with his love of the Indian sub-continent. As a result, his paintings display the bright, rich colours of both the South Pacific and tropical India.

Tyman uses the language of symbolism and allegory to give the objects he depicts a meaning greater than themselves; to give the viewer something to think about when they spend time with the work. Though the works are clearly shaped by his own rich multicultural upbringing and experiences, Tyman is clear in his wishes that the viewer construct their own meaning by bringing their own experiences into the exchange between viewer and artwork. The more you look at the work the more it seems to come alive.

Tyman works cross disciplinarily, primarily in screen print and oil painting, weaving imagery and colour into his works that reflect the cultures that have shaped his life.