HOROSCOPES: MISS PEARL NECLIS

ARTS + CULTURE HOROSCOPES HOROSCOPES: MISS PEARL NECLIS – what your stars hold for December

Aquarius (the Water Carrier) 21 January - 19 February You can be razor sharp when you want to, but occasionally it takes a while for your lights to switch on. Sometimes the pause between what you want and what you end up with can be a bit too long. Pisces (the Fishes) 20 February - 20 March Now could be about the right time on your part to take on a little bit more than you think you can handle. Your confidence is buzzing, so why not show people what you’re made of. Aries (the Ram) 21 March - 20 April Have you got the determination, strength and resources to get through the battle that could be heading your way if you don’t take some precautions? Being confident will be your best strength.

Taurus (the Bull) 21 April - 21 May You’ve realised by now that when your routine gets changed it doesn’t always mean that your life becomes chaotic; you’re confident enough to know that whatever happens, you always get the job done. Gemini (the Twins) 22 May - 21 June You’re undecided about what you really want from the relationship you’re in at the moment and you seem to want to escape from making a decision, but letting things hang will bring you stress and heartache. What you need is resolution. Cancer (the Crab) 22 June - 22 July Someone has been upsetting you lately even though you have been cutting them loads of slack. You know what’s going on, but are just seeing how far someone will go to get what they want.

Leo (the Lion) 23 July - 21 August Consider all options before you make any decisions this month as you know in the past rushing in hasn’t always been the best policy. Getting excited about your future is great, but get advice as well. Virgo (the Virgin) 22 August - 23 September You are always able to overlook the petty squabbles that usually go with life. After all, it’s not like you are just starting out. But occasionally something crosses your boundary that drives you insane, and that’s something you are going to have to watch. Libra (the Scales) 24 September - 23 October You’re getting distracted quite easily this month. Even if you think things are going fine, you might need to speak up and cause a few waves rather than remain silent.

Scorpio (the Scorpion) 24 October - 22 November Doing something new is probably not the right time now, especially as you suspect you are being tricked into doing something that you’re not comfortable with. You must do what you want even if it isolates you. Sagittarius (the Archer) 23 November - 22 December Everything about this month lends itself to being a positive month for you. You’re going to be quite ruthless in what you get up to. Remember though, to be as open to suggestion as much as possible, instead of cutting yourself off completely. Capricorn (the Goat) 23 December - 20 January It seems you’re able to accomplish a lot without really doing much and it’s getting noticed by a few disgruntled observers. Don’t worry about resentment, you can’t please everyone all of the time.

Rebecca Wallis – Void of Meaning

Rebecca Wallis is an artist who has gained much attention for her work recently while also being included in the highlyrespected Bateman Books publication, ‘250 Years of New Zealand Painting’, now in its fourth edition.

UK born, Rebecca has lived in New Zealand since 1980, studying for her DipFA Honours in Dunedin before venturing back to the UK in 1994 to complete her Masters in Visual Arts at the renowned Goldsmiths College in London. Her work has been shown around the world ever since.

Her fourth solo show with us is one of her most compelling yet – explorations of ‘the void’; the tension between self and other, absence and presence. These magnificent paintings on silk are gently worked in layers behind the surface over time to create deeply nuanced spaces. Yet they feel brilliantly alive, and you really need to experience them to ‘feel’ their emotional resonance.

At first glance, these works look like they occupy the edges of traditional formal abstraction - but they offer far more than that, balancing metaphors of tension and separation with the deep resonance of loss that a parent feels when the mother becomes ‘the other’ – when the child quite literally finds their own path opposing parental love. This is a current source of personal exploration for Rebecca.

As she explains, “When we love too hard and give ourselves away completely to another, or when our love is rejected, questioned and when we feel abjection – it’s impossible to reflect that in words. In my case, these paintings reflects the collapse of the idea of what love is and of what I am as a mother, of the ways I’ve been loving and consequently, the breaking down of my identity. Of what I thought and all I knew about how to mother, and being a mother. It’s the breaking down of the meaning of what I thought my role could and should be.”

Rebecca’s last solo show sold out and these new works are anticipated to be highly popular, so please come along to the opening event on Saturday 4 December 11am-5pm, or get in touch with scott@scottlawrie.com for a link to the online preview.

Rebecca Wallis, Tremors of Abjection, 2021