Sleep and Trance is in many ways a ground-breaking exhibition for Paul Martinson.

In 2004 Martinson was commissioned by Te Papa to paint the extinct birdlife of New Zealand. This resulted in the publication, Extinct Birds of New Zealand in 2006 which was recently shortlisted as a finalist in the Montana Book awards, Environment section. To a very real extent the current exhibition combines this past with the present, and crucially has meant a re-engagement with imagery Martinson has long painted within very different contexts, and is now making its presence felt with unexpected and dynamic results. In contrast to his earlier work, Martinson's new work is out of the ordinary, ethereal and often edgy, with a greater emphasis on the psychological, the sensual and the sexual. After having concentrated for the greater part of his career on painting portraits of New Zealand wildlife, it became essential for Martinson to indulge a greater freedom of expression, and to expose a more subjective view.

Sleep Liberation Watercolour, watercolour pencil on paper

To achieve this Martinson has engaged the process of physic automatism, a concept based on Freud's "free flow of ideas", and one which formed the basis of Andre Breton's Surrealist Manifesto published in 1924. Central to that manifesto was a call to artists to effectively allow the flow of "information" from the subconscious to the canvas, and thus expose personal "truths" potentially suppressed by self censoring.

While employing new methods Sleep and Trance has also allowed Martinson to bring together several strands of philosophical thought. As a keen observer and prolific painter of birds in particular, he has come to realise that in spite of the many connections we make with other species, either by design or randomly, as humans we remain as remote in every respect from them as it is possible to be. However, as these works illustrate, he is also constantly reminded of the ways in which "all creatures" are connected, and here attempts to draw attention to those connections.

Wind and Trance Watercolour and watercolour pencil on paper

Further to this he says, " ... to my mind all creatures are basically the same in the sense that while each of their worlds are perhaps observed or interpreted differently through the various senses they have available there is a point or 'consciousness', through which all that information is channelled and from which a response to the outside environment is initiated. Another way to express this would be to say that this 'point' is the driver, and the body of the creature the vehicle being driven. Trance and sleep states are a way of placing different creatures together in a painting to express their commonality and individuality, these states seem to imply a laying down of the differences which ordinarily separate different species. By differences, I mean the array of patterns of behaviour, such as that of predator or the territorial nature of certain creatures, for example." In trance, "... a predator and prey can sit peacefully together for a moment in time that seems endless or perpetual."

Theatre of dream and trance Watercolour, watercolour pencil, acrylic and gouache on paper

By highlighting what we have in common, including the fact that " ... sleep and trance-like states of consciousness are a unifying phenomenon of all living creatures", Martinson identifies human behaviour with that of other remote species. This point is subtly made in Syzegetic Creatures, where a situation is created to suggest metaphorically, ways in which creatures, human or otherwise, can and do connect in spite of their great differences. A kingfisher and heron sit comfortably on an "old" branch and while united in their trance-like attitudes and avian characteristics, their genetic difference means they are also very distinct and remote entities.

Syzygetic Creatures Watercolour, watercolour pencil and gouache on paper

Martinson enhances the sense of both connection and remoteness by imbuing the work with a dreamlike, ethereal quality which both unifies and contains the two birds within a context of artificiality. While they have an air of verisimilitude, they are also clearly isolated from real life. However, in spite of that we are drawn to an enduring sense of connection, enhanced by the implication that time continually washes over them (as the remnants of tattered cloth suggest) and yet still they sit united in their differences and commonalities. Further to this is Martinson's belief that when we or any other creature encounter each other in nature, even briefly, that moment of connection will inevitably be life-changing even if never formally attended to.

All the works in this exhibition are concerned in some way with metaphor and the notion of paradox. Self-evidently, Paradoxical Sleeper is one such work, and according to Martinson, one of the most important to emerge from the Venus series to date. In Roman mythology Venus is known (among other things) as the Goddess of love, and as such represents a powerful symbol of male desire. Images of Venus and her like have proliferated from the Renaissance to the present day, which conform to this ideal of female sexuality. In Paradoxical Sleeper Martinson both affirms and challenges this view. In contrast to conventional images of Venus here the female figure appears sculpted, porcelain-like and bereft of vigour, and yet the birds seem sensitive to her as a source of comfort. A male heron connects to her in a primal sensual embrace, a situation consistent with psychic automatism as a metaphorical expression of male libido. However, although Venus represents the ultimate symbol of love and sexuality, as an idealised mythological creation, she remains an aspiration, and thus ultimately unattainable. This situation is further enhanced by the fact that her face and erogenous zones are also obscured. The same ideas are implicit in Impromptu Gathering.

Impromptu Gathering Watercolour, watercolour pencil and gouache on paper

Psychic automatism is a paradoxical process, and in this exhibition it also links strongly to the states of sleep and trance. Martinson says, "The reference to trance made in some of the titles derives from the process of painting which is quite hypnotic (as if someone else is doing the work and I am watching)." It is thus a process which assumes not only unconventional thoughts and behaviour, but involves an attempt by the artist to remove himself from painting in the "here and now", that is, thinking at a superficial and conscious level rather than a subconscious "automatic" level. In this way fact and fiction can and do merge in unpredictable ways. In Theatre of Dream and Trance, Martinson depicts a heron in a "un-birdlike" manner in a strange "external" environment. The painting makes no immediate sense but the unusual subject matter, dramatic composition and soft jewel-like colours and textures command our attention. While Theatre is compelling as a picture, as humans we identify with the vulnerability and innocence of the little heron, a living creature like us, caught as it were, between the imaginary and the material world.

In Sleep and Trance Martinson has created a new aesthetic in which meticulous attention to detail, rich surface texture and beauty (something we rarely see in contemporary New Zealand painting) co-exists with a definitive and individual point of view. He has managed to do this in a philosophical way, inviting the viewer to consider other positions and psychological points of view while still appreciating the age old art of fine painting.

Paul Martinson - Sleep and Trance - 29 July-16 August
Ferner Galleries
367 Parnell Road
Parnell, Auckland
Tel: 09 309 0107