29 May 2020
In Melvin Day’s mature art, coastal landscapes were a constant theme. He lived in Seatoun from 1968 until his death in 2016, and was aware of the power, character and changeability of Cook Strait and its environment. This painting focuses on the headlands at Makara Beach, a short drive from the Wellington city centre.
In this and many of his other coastal works, Day links to the process of seeing and naming which are dominant to stories of discovery and settlement. The word ‘Makara’ floats above the horizon like an inscription on a drawing by an early coastal surveyor.
