Masculinity is in the spotlight in thecurrent exhibition by Scott Eady at the Mary Newton Gallery. With Eady's characteristic humour The world keeps turning investigates aspects of manhood through the classic 1953 Western, Hondo starring John Wayne.
Masculinity is in the spotlight in thecurrent exhibition by Scott Eady at the Mary Newton Gallery. With Eady's characteristic humour The world keeps turning investigates aspects of manhood through the classic 1953 Western, Hondo starring John Wayne.
The installation includes a life-size John Wayne cast in resin, encased in buckskin, eyes shielded by the broad brim of his hat, who gazes out into Vivian Street about to fire the last 40 shots of his Winchester rifle. His gunbelt is empty of all but one cartridge, thirty-six of them spent on empty bronze bean tins shot full of lead and littering the floor. One tin remains standing on a fence-post awaiting the Winchester's final blast. A huge inflatable moon bearing the marks of three bullet entry holes sits just meters away, a gesture of Hondo's love for a woman who remains anonymous.
Eady says "Hondo was one of the most unobtainable characters ever played by John Wayne. He portrayed an image no man could ever live up to. My Hondo lovingly reproduces the aesthetic associated with Westerns and cowboys but sends up it hollowness."
The World Keeps Turning by Scott Eady
150 Vivian Street, Wellington
Contact Mary-Jane Duffy or Paula Newton
Tel: 385-1699 / 021-213-2257
contact@marynewtongallery.com