HOROSCOPES: MISS PEARL NECLIS

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

Aquarius (the Water Carrier) 21 January - 19 February Appreciate what’s there in front of you instead of dreaming about something that’s not obtainable. You can stay grounded by focusing on real life. Advice around you is pretty sound. Take notice when you can. Pisces (the Fishes) 20 February - 20 March Just be yourself when you’re doing a presentation of any kind. Just being you is what will impress. If you’re acting in any way it will show. Don’t get caught up in the everyday dramas that follow some people around. Keep your mind clear and focus on you. Aries (the Ram) 21 March - 20 April You have great intuition and so far it hasn’t let you down. Whatever you’re dealing with at the moment will see you relying on keeping your wits about you. Remember though you have a great network around you that you can always rely on.

Taurus (the Bull) 21 April - 21 May If you have an opportunity to make waves or be noticed this month, then take it. Family members or someone very close will tell you the potential you have. Believe in yourself. Others do. Gemini (the Twins) 22 May - 21 June You’ve been keeping a secret for too long now and the thought of it is making you itch to tell someone. Let everyone know what’s been going on. This could involve you opening up to your feelings and just letting go. Cancer (the Crab) 22 June - 22 July Listen to the voices around you. Close associates and friends might share some information with you this month. Take note and don’t dismiss anything. The knowledge you currently have will be enhanced, if you pay attention.

Leo (the Lion) 23 July - 21 August You have always had the chance to be great especially at what you do. You don’t have to always put yourself first though. You know that great leaders always have great support around them. Virgo (the Virgin) 22 August - 23 September You know how easy it can be to get distracted. The trick you need to learn is not to get sidetracked when you’re doing something important. Try focusing on what’s in front of you first. Then you might be too exhausted to let your mind wander. Libra (the Scales) 24 September - 23 October The help you’ve needed might be closer than you think so don’t dismiss anything on first inspection this month. The kind acts you receive will give you the opportunity to be the best version of yourself.

Scorpio (the Scorpion) 24 October - 22 November The people that you love want you to be happy, so it’s obvious when you meet up that they want to show you a good time. Just make sure you’re there for them when they need you. Sagittarius (the Archer) 23 November - 22 December If you feel like you’re just going through each day the same then it's time to change your habits. Try not to brush off anyone's feelings this month with the way you’ve become. To make any changes is with you. Capricorn (the Goat) 23 December - 20 January It’s time to change up your routine. Variety is the spice of life as they say. Do something different that challenges you. If that doesn’t work continue until you find something that makes you happy. But remember, you can blossom any time of the year.

Centre III, hanging on the wall of Daniel Unverricht's studio, 2022

@ {SUITE} GALLERY

Daniel Unverricht, Sleeping Village; 11 May – 4 June 2022

Daniel Unverricht’s upcoming exhibition at {Suite} wasn’t intended to be a comment on New Zealand’s Covid-19 lockdown, but like many artists he subconsciously found the idea seeping into his latest body of work.

His painting practise is well known for its ‘dramatically lit realism’, the derelict buildings and moody nocturnal streetscapes providing an eerie sense of the uninhabited, but in some ways his practise has foreshadowed the reality of our local areas during New Zealand’s lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. As Daniel comments, "maybe my paintings have always had that isolational/locked down aspect, just distilled a bit more now."

Taking inspiration from local buildings in the Wairarapa, where he resides, Daniel has always shone a light on the overlooked, undervalued and the disappearing, often painted at night with dramatic lighting and high contrast of light and shadow.

In this series, a new aspect has entered his work; a daytime setting and a deliberate attempt to add in some cheer after a difficult few years.

His painting Centre III (pictured) is a burnt out, boarded up building, but Unverricht can still see the beauty in in. Elevated to a grand scale (the painting measures 1.5 x 1.2m) with a focus on the plywood boards right in the centre of the work, Centre III envelopes the picture plane, filling the painted surface, but with a hint of brightness from the blue sky beyond.

Daniel received a Master of Fine Arts from Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland, graduating in 2003, and has exhibited regularly in both solo and group exhibitions since then.