In conversation with Marc Blake
To understand the piece beyond its materials, we asked Marc about Central Otago, his creative process and what happened when familiar landscapes met some rather unfamiliar artistic materials.
What is it about the Central Otago landscape that continues to hold your attention, both personally and creatively?
"It is constantly changing, which is an ethos underpinning my painting. I never want to repeat things for the sake of it."
What was your first thought when BIRKENSTOCK asked you to create a piece specifically for the Queenstown store, and how did you begin approaching it?
"My first thought was that it was completely unlike anything I'd made before and that I was possibly the least likely artist to make this kind of piece! Yet at the same time I was intrigued by the challenge and had immediate ideas as to how I wanted to make it. We knew we had to create an artwork that felt handmade and unique, while being specific to both BIRKENSTOCK and this part of New Zealand - which is actually a very natural fit. The starting point was to turn the forms of the local mountains into something built directly from core BIRKENSTOCK materials, and as the idea progressed we realised the really close similarities and natural affinity between these materials and the colours and textures of this region."
The work brings together The Remarkables, Walter Peak, Isthmus Peak and the Pisa Range. How did you choose how to interpret and compose those landscapes within one piece?
"I simplified each range down to its most recognisable profile, at least as they appear to me. The aim wasn't to reproduce a view literally, but to let these forms of different landscapes naturally overlap and sit together as one balanced composition."
This commission asked you to work with BIRKENSTOCK materials including cork, jute, suede and oiled leather. How did working with those materials change your usual creative process?
"It changed it about as much as it could have possibly changed it! I have never used any of these materials before, but they are all very tactile and I could play around and they would naturally suggest the best ways to utilise them. Much of the surface was already present within the materials themselves and once the forms of the mountains started to emerge, it was clear how well this was going to work."
