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May 2, 2008
Colin McCahon's 'Victory over Death 2' belongs to his Practical Religion series. I was never able to connect with this religious based work when I was living in NZ, even though McCahon is known for incorporating text and iconography. I much preferred the abstracted regionalist landscapes then.
Now I can appreciate the the stark black and white and tonalities of grey, the way that the text is an integral part of the work and the struggles with faith in 'Victory over Death 2'.
Colin McCahon, Victory over Death, 1970, synthetic polymer paint on canvas
In 1978 the painting was given by the New Zealand government to Australia in commemoration of that country's bicentenary. The tabloid media in Australia had a ball. This iconic work is now in the National Gallery of Australia’s collection.
My response to McCahon's work is through the concepts of place, identity, cultural memory and spirituality and his New Zealand's artistic traditions and critical practices'. His work was grounded in the landscapes of New Zealand and it was the landscape that served predominantly as a vehicle for his propositions regarding the relation of the individual to physical and religiousl worlds.
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