Lucien Rizos
Photo: Supplied
What do you do with all those papers and possessions when someone close to you dies? In the case of Gerald O’Brien (1924–2017) – former Labour Party MP for Island Bay and local businessman – nephew and artist Lucien Rizos photographed everything.
This was no small task: O'Brien had been documenting his own life since childhood. His estate included 100s of hand-painted cut out characters he created for a parallel world, with its own alternate geography, nation states, and histories.
Rizos’s project Everything, took over three years to complete with Rizos organising O'Brien's life into more than 60 magazines. Everything is on display at the Adam Art Gallery until 18 December.
Bookcase in Spare Bedroom, 2020, colour digital print, 1500 x 1846 mm, courtesy of the artist (PHOTO: Lucien Rizos)
Installation view of Lucien Rizos: Everything at Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery. (PHOTO: Adam Art Gallery)
Everything, 2020 - 22, sixty - six magazines in three slip cases, courtesy of the artist (PHOTO: Lucien Rizos)
The World, 2021, colour digital print , 835 x 1250 mm, courtesy of the artist (PHOTO: Lucien Rizos)
Gerald O’Brien, four of over 800 hand - painted paper cut - out figures, each approximately 80 mm high, archive of Gerald O’Brien (PHOTO: Lucien Rizos)
Installation view of Lucien Rizos: Everything at Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery. (PHOTO: Adam Art Gallery)
Installation view of Lucien Rizos: Everything at Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery. (PHOTO: Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery)
Caricature of Gerald O’Brien, ‘Backbench Viewpoint’, NZ Herald, date unknown, archive of Gerald O’Brien (PHOTO: Lucien Rizos)
Installation view of Lucien Rizos: Everything at Te Pātaka Toi Adam Art Gallery. (PHOTO: Adam Art Gallery)
