RUSSELL/KORORĀREKA

FEATURE INTERVIEW Pompallier Mission and Printery an ongoing inspiration for artist

WORDS: John O’Hare IMAGES: Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga

For Auckland-based artist Peter Atkinson, Pompallier Mission and Printery in Russell/Kororāreka has got under his skin – in a powerfully positive way.

The painter has found a source of inspiration in the historic building and site cared for by Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga that has resulted in a series of artistic pilgrimages that continue to kindle his creativity. “My wife and I visited Pompallier Mission about 10 years ago, shortly after I had taken up art after a long period of not painting,” he says. “We did the tour, but what really impacted me was the interior of the printery building and the objects associated with printing and bookbinding that were on display. The objects were sitting there bathed in half light and looking like something out of a painting by Vermeer or Chardin.”

During a visit of the Bookbindery he took some pictures which sat on his computer for a year or two – until one day he decided to paint them as still life. “I was offered the opportunity to set up my gear in a corner in the printery building and begin building the collection of photographic resources from which the paintings emerged – all while tours and other aspects of life at Pompallier Mission were taking place around me.” The result was Teatro – a collection of stunning still life works that capture the objects associated with the mission printery in the place where they are used by guides to tell the stories of the people and events that happened in the 1840s. It was here that Bishop Pompallier and his French Marist priests produced almost 40,000 religious books in te reo Māori – an extraordinary achievement.

Peter Atkinson at Pompallier Mission.

“The paintings in Teatro focus largely on the objects – which are story-bearers that tell the narratives of what went on here. They then become part of the ongoing history of this place,” he says. “You become very conscious of the fact that this is where stories and narratives through time are shared, and experiences are passed on from one person to another – mainly through the guides who work here, many of whom have whakapapa ties to this place, again reinforcing that continuity of place and history.” The name Teatro is based on the Greek root word for ‘theatre’, and literally means a place to view. “There is a sense of seeing beyond the present to connect with the past as these stories weave together – the bookbinding and printing aspect of the place have become a kind of metaphor for the actual compiling and sharing of these stories. “Pompallier Mission and Printery has captured my imagination – its spaces, rooms and walls. The French philosopher Gaston Bachelard famously said – ‘Every corner is haunted if not inhabited.’ This resonates with me, and many visitors to Pompallier Mission and Printery who are impacted by the special kind of atmosphere of serenity that they experience here.” For Peter, painting at Pompallier Mission and Printery has become an important part of a personal journey of healing after experiencing parental bereavement. “I had started a fine arts degree in my 20s and left it to get a ‘real’ job – as you did in those days. One day, one of my sons – Andrew – sat down with me and asked me whether I was doing what I really wanted to be doing,” he remembers. “Not long afterwards he died in an accident. Although he suffered from Crohn’s disease, Andrew was full of life and enthusiasm. I found his last Father’s Day card to me and in it was a $100 gift voucher for art supplies, and a little note saying: ‘Do your art Dad’. “I realised that at that time in my life I probably had more time left than Andrew had had alive, and that it was important to do what’s in me to do for as long as I’m able.” Peter, who has a degree in Theology and Pastoral Counselling, was familiar with parental bereavement and had worked as a therapist and counsellor with people who had experienced this particular form of grief. “Parental bereavement strikes a blow at your own identity and sense of narrative as life going forward completely changes from what people expected it to be. They are suddenly forced to find a way through a territory where there is no narrative to get them through,” he says. “Everyone has to find their own way – others can describe the terrain all bereaved parents face, in one way or another, but not give you a route map. In my case I had to deal with a number of questions – where is Andrew, and how are we still connected? And how can I carry him forward?”

For Peter, art has provided answers to these questions. “Art can be all about the artist. But what I’ve wanted to do is paint in a way that speaks to people’s souls. Andrew would be all into that,” he says. A recent conversation with Pompallier Mission and Printery Property Lead, Delphine Moise-Elise, re-energised Peter’s abiding connection with the historic building. “We talked about how we could carry this project forward. In Teatro I was largely focused on physical things – the hard inanimate objects that pass through time, if you like. In this next series of paintings, I am exploring the interplay of these with Pompallier Mission and Printery’s garden,” he says. “Flowers started appearing in the artworks. These are at the opposite end of the spectrum from the objects that I had focused on because flowers don’t last; they absorb light and transform it but then die. Objects can only reflect and refract light. Part of this next series of paintings will be an attempt to explore this ‘tension’ while presenting them both as story-bearers,” he says. “Perhaps light then becomes a metaphor for the way that stories travel through time, taonga passed from one generation to another, to help illuminate the common human terrain every generation must face and by which we chart our own courses.” This familiar theme of stories and their continuity throughout generations keeps recurring, according to Peter. “The botanicals are also story-bearers in their own right. There are different varieties of apples and pears in the garden, for example – some English and some French – all of which track back to previous generations of people who have worked and lived here. It’s amazing to see some of these plants in different parts of the Bay,” he says. The constant cycle of the seasons, balanced against the constant cycle of tours – together with the sharing of different layers of stories, cultures and traditions – span time and connect the past with the present, and both with the future. All are part of what makes this place special with a timelessness that overflows into Peter’s work.

“People respond to these artworks even if they’re not always conscious of why these paintings speak to them,” says Peter. “That’s why I paint.” n

A recent still life painted by Peter Atkinson drawing inspiration from a dauber – an inking tool used at Pompallier Mission – and a flower from the Mission garden. Credit: Peter Atkinson