9 minute read
Trash to treasure
Artist Mark Lee’s talent for searching out old, discarded items and reimagining them into new and unique pieces raises the concept of upcycling to a new level.
INTERVIEW HAYLEY BARNETT
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Paua Skatelight T auranga local Mark Lee has always loved junk. From collecting old car parts as a kid, to creating his business “One-ofa-Kind Design” as an adult, his passion for transforming objects that have outlived their usefulness has never faded. Giving them a new and different purpose as unique, functional art pieces, Mark says this style of art is about recycling, re-purposing and re-creating something that will be a timeless conversation piece for others to enjoy. UNO talks to Mark about his work, both old and new.
UNO: How did you discover this medium?
Mark: When I was a kid, there was a junkyard at the end of a dirt road in the forest near our house where people had dumped old cars, appliances and other stuff. It was one of my favourite places, and I spent hours and hours collecting bits and pieces and creating things with the old parts. Maybe that was the beginning of the passion? Certainly the challenge of seeing the potential in the “discarded” drives me to this day.
UNO: What do you love about it?
Mark: I love that everything I make is one-of-a-kind and unique. I love that I can save objects that are otherwise going to end up in landfill and give them a new purpose – a second life. I love the creativeness and challenge of turning something that might be rusty, worn out and no longer useful into something functional and beautiful.
A transformed antique cream separator is one of Mark’s favourite pieces.
VACUUM LAMP
What do you get when you combine a tired old art deco Goblin “Regal” vacuum cleaner (manufactured by the British Vacuum Cleaner & Engineering Company in the 1940s), a vintage Italian Venti fan, an automotive hood ornament and badge, trolley wheels, a motorcycle air filter, new paint, a vintage-style light bulb and dimmer? A vacuum lamp that doesn’t suck, of course!
UNO: Where do you get your ideas from?
Mark: When I was in primary school, we used to do an art exercise that I loved, where the teacher gave us some random shapes and squiggles on a blank piece of paper. We had to use our imagination to turn the drawing into something else by adding to it. To this day, I still find that exercise a fun creative practice. So while I’m inspired by lots of good design by other artists, mostly I try and use my imagination.
UNO: What is your favourite piece and why?
Mark: Ooh, it’s hard to choose. I guess the antique cream separator I transformed is one of my favourites so far. It came off a farm in Tīrau, and was very rusty when I found it. I decided to just clean it and clear coat the rust instead of removing and painting over it. I then added a custom made glass top and smart lighting that changes colours and dims via a mobile app. The mixing of vintage and new technology features in a lot of what I create.
UNO: How did you become an artist? What is your background?
Mark: I’ve always had a passion for industrial design, history and things that are unique and different. As a child I was always tinkering with stuff and being creative, as an adult I became a graphic designer. For 15 years I owned a graphic design company but in my spare time I liked being more “hands-on” creative with repurposing antiques and vintage stuff. When I sold my company in 2016, I decided to make this passion what I do full time.
UNO: Who is your favourite artist?
Mark: There’s so many, because there’s so much variety and scope to what we term “art”. I guess my all-time favourite would be Frank Lloyd Wright. As an architect, designer, writer and educator, he designed more than 1,000 structures and influenced design worldwide while training hundreds of apprentices through his Taliesin Fellowship. I also want to acknowledge local emerging artists. It’s so important our community supports artists who are bringing positive messages, unique perspectives, and beauty in so many different forms.
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IN THE MIX
Editor Hayley Barnett shares her not-so-secret obsession with a truly high-tech kitchen gadget.
Five years ago, I was working alongside a group of wellknown food writers who worked for a well-known food magazine, when the topic of a very unknown (to me, anyway) product arose in conversation. These nextlevel foodies were obsessed with something called a Thermomix, something that looked a lot like a fancy blender.
“It’s a computer that cooks,” was the first comment that caught my attention. But the clincher, “and there are 77,000 recipes to choose from!” really piqued my interest. I was pregnant with my second child at the time and whenever this German machine was mentioned I became more and more intrigued. It seemed to do everything I couldn’t – cook food without burning it (more my first child’s fault than mine, of course), give me inspiration when my brain had given up, knead dough to a perfect consistency, make amazing gourmet meals mess-free, provide my precious oat milk and mill rice into flour, and replace every single one of my clunky appliances taking up valuable space in my kitchen. However, getting my hands on one proved a bit trickier than expected. You can’t just pop down to the mall and buy one. In order to purchase a Thermomix, you need to book a consultant to show you how to use it, which makes sense, considering it has 20 different functions. You know how I said it’s a computer that cooks? Well, it hooks up to your WiFi and then you simply browse recipes using the touchscreen. From there, you follow stepby-step instructions (the machine weighs everything as you pour ingredients in), then press “cook” and walk away. It steams, sautés, cooks, chops, purées, poaches – everything but bake, though the steam function makes up for this; I’ve made many a cake and even steamed a whole chicken. I’ve also impressed friends with my exotic cocktails. But, most impressive is that you can create weekly meal plans and send all the ingredients straight to Countdown from your machine or app. Basically, it takes the dog work out of cooking. My consultant, a lovely lady named Jill, suggested I get a couple of friends together, to show them how it works. “The last thing I need is another appliance,” said one friend, rolling her eyes. “It’s a cult,” said another. “All those machines do is make soup.” Choosing to listen to the magazine foodies instead of my non-kitchen whizz friends, I booked a session and enjoyed the three-course demo with my family. Getting it over the line with my penny-pinching partner proved a cinch after Jill whipped up some Brazilian cheese puffs followed by a delicious mushroom risotto and sorbet for dessert. And so began my journey into the world of Thermomix. I became obsessed. I would bring up my Thermomix in conversation with anyone who cared to listen, and even with those who didn’t. I wanted everyone to know how much easier their lives could be with this amazing ‘Jetson’ machine that is surely going to take over the world. “Wow, you’re quite the salesperson,” smirked a new co-worker, not realising that I am very much not a salesperson. I’m brutally and awkwardly honest, even when my life depends on it. After five years of near-daily use, I decided to upgrade to the newest model, the TM6, and I’m raving about it more than ever. I recently caught up with one of those naysayer friends and mentioned I had upgraded. “You must really love soup,” she replied. This perhaps proves my selling skills aren’t quite up to scratch, but you just can’t help some people.
I've decided to sharpen those selling skills with my own Thermie business! Follow me at: MYHEALTHYTHERMIE
We have a full selection of Escape Festival books in-store and online to get you ready for this years event!
12 - 16 October www.taurangafestival.co.nz
74 Grey Street, Tauranga Ph 07 578 6607 BETWEEN THE LINES
To celebrate the 2022 Escape Festival, held in Tauranga, the Books A Plenty team showcases three essential reads from featured Kiwi authors.
How to be a Bad Muslim and Other Essays
by Mohamed Hassan Penguin
Funny, elegiac and chilling, these essays from awardwinning New Zealand writer Mohamed Hassan blend storytelling, memoir and non-fiction to map the experience of being Muslim in the 21st century.
From Cairo to Takapuna, Athens to Istanbul, How to Be A Bad Muslim maps the experience of being Muslim through essays on identity, Islamophobia, surveillance, migration and language. Relatable yet eye-opening, this left me with a greater sense of the cultural inequality in our society. Mohamed’s words flow conversationally and at times it feels like he is sitting with you retelling events from his life.
The Mirror Book
by Charlotte Grimshaw Penguin
Brave, explosive and thoughtprovoking, this is a powerful memoir from a critically acclaimed writer.
“It’s material, make a story out of it” was the mantra Charlotte Grimshaw grew up with in her famous literary family. But when her life suddenly turned upside-down, she needed to re-examine the reality of that material. The more she delved into her memories, the more the real characters in her life seemed to object. So what was the truth of “a whole life lived in fiction”?
Charlotte doesn’t hold back with her story or her writing process, showing that our memories can be remembered differently by those who shared them.
A Quiet Kitchen
by Nici Wickes David Bateman Ltd
Nici’s recent book is a collection of recipes that got her (and others) through the lockdowns and isolation of 2020/2021. It is a reflection on topics dear to her heart – finding the joy in living solo, how to cook and eat simply, the wonders of middle age, giving up drinking, finding her way through sickness towards health, and all the rest that life throws at us.
This is a stunning book, a cookbook and a memoir rolled into one. The recipes are not only incredibly delicious but also easy to follow, and all the ingredients are easily accessible. For a family of five, her recipes for one are very easily multiplied.
