Description
A Barry Brickell Reader illuminates not the pottery Barry Brickell is known for, but another facet of his genius: his ‘wrertings’. Reflecting the extrusions, bulges, crevasses and bobbles, his poetry — like his pots — can be mildly offensive, but they contain the same virtues Barry associated with rail travel: sensuality, rhythm, vibration and warmth.
Here, Barry’s great creative output is laid out expansively, accompanied by a photoessay of Barry doing what he did best: working.
The real me
Why do you
keep on
telling me
I’m something
that I’m not?
Nottapotta,
not an engineer,
not an artist,
nottawriter,
Not even
a real man —
just a wrerter,
a ceramiccissist,
mudslinger
and an oddity —
which is
closer
to the actual
truth?
About the author
“Barry Brickell wove many different strands into the rope of his life, clay, wine, engineering, fruitcake, paint, conservation, words. Some strands were of seriously heavy calibre, many were just plain funny, and some were tucked away and often seen only privately. He was a man with serious messages which he despatched to the world wrapped in a wide variety of beguiling packages.” — Peter Lange
Gregory O’Brien is an artist, critic and award-winning author. His work has appeared in Islands, Landfall, Sport, Meanjin, and Scripsi. He lives in Wellington where he is Senior Curator at the City Gallery Wellington.
Haru Sameshima was born in Shizuoka City, Japan, and was taught photography by his scientist father at early age. After immigrating to New Zealand in 1973, he worked in small Dunedin photographic studio learning the craft before completing a BFA and MFA at Elam School of Fine Arts. His work has been shown at the International Triennial Bright Paradise at Auckland Art Gallery, Wonderland at Govett-Brewster Gallery in New Plymouth and Fotographia, Festival Internationale Di Roma, Italy.
