Brook Waimārama Sanctuary – Dean Raybould

This artwork was created by Tākaka-based artist Dean Raybould.

Over the last few years, the Brook Sanctuary moved between a few different offices on Hardy St and in Morrison Square, until they found a more permanent home just off Montgomery Square. Dean’s work has moved with them, being displayed in various shopfronts and even on a fence along Bridge Street.

The art installation tells the story of the Brook Waimārama site: from its distant origins as part of Gondwanaland; the development of New Zealand’s unique species of birds, reptiles, and insects; the waves of human arrivals and the mammalian pests we brought with us; the development of Nelson City’s water works; the founding of the Sanctuary project; through to our future vision for the site as a fully restored native ecosystem with reintroduced rare birds and other wildlife.

Dean Raybould’s highly illustrative work is surrealist, quirky and humorous, with a penchant for word-play in the titles of his paintings.

Dean’s paintings on found objects – including glass, wood, boards and canvas – are interlaced with social and environmental commentary, black humour and ambiguous musings on human existence. The interplay of words, flora and fauna, birds and pattern, all combine to create a mystical dream-like trance of finely executed treasures.

Often collected for his lyrical and humorous artworks, Dean’s pieces evoke a New Zealand surrealist environment that has its roots firmly grounded in his inimitable tongue-in-cheek style.