Artist’s journey in a blue dinghy

Builder, musician, art collector – WITT art student Ben Dixon acquired numerous skills and experiences before he returned to the classroom to focus on visual creativity.

His work is on show from November 14-16 as part of the end of year exhibition by New Zealand Diploma in Arts and Design (Levels 5 and 6) students.

Ben’s workspace in the WITT art department is jam-packed with diverse works he’s created this year, from abstract and figurative painting to graphic design and textiles.

He moved from Whanganui after he visited the department and was inspired by the passion of the four WITT tutors (Ged Guy, Philippa Berry-Smith, Dr Elliot Collins and Mark Raymer) and the range of art forms they teach. His industrious output has impressed them. As well has exhibiting at WITT, he has other artworks on show at a local venue, Goldie’s Café and Bar.

“I’m serious about what I do having decided to re-train,” he says. “I’m working towards opening my own gallery, music venue, coffee shop.”

All roads lead to art

Ben studied art at Hawera High School. But his love of music – playing and teaching drums, writing songs – was stronger then. He played in local bands, including The Slacks and with looping artists Sonic Delusion and Graeme James. He studied music at MAINZ (Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand) in Auckland, completing a Diploma in Contemporary Music. The experience taught him he didn’t want to try and make a living, monetising something he loved. He wondered if doing so might curb the pleasure and the mysterious space music holds. 

Back home after a trip to Europe he pursued a building apprenticeship in Nelson, motivated by the desire to one day build his own home.

It was a tough gig that lasted seven years, but he stuck with it to become a qualified builder. “The most important thing I got from that time was that you’ve got to do something while you figure out what you want to be doing.”

In his spare time, Ben was drawn to the art world and frequented a local Nelson gallery run by well-known photographer Craig Potton. "It was a retreat from the sawdust,” he says.

Potton became a friend and mentor, introducing Ben to the world of art collecting. A memorable moment was when he spotted a small, owl-shaped ceramic vase in the catalogue of an Auckland gallery. Made by none other than Pablo Picasso, it was selling for $19K (courtesy of Gow Langsford Gallery in the Craig Potton Gallery summer show).

It struck Ben as feasibly affordable. Although a fan of Picasso, he didn’t try to buy it. But seeing it got him excited about the possibility of collecting art to fit his budget.

His collection now includes works by renowned Kiwi artists by Dick Frizzell, Gordon Walters and Billy Apple. His first purchase – a response to feeling homesick for Taranaki - was a Michael Smither print of a sunset at Back Beach.

Curiosity about art and the creative process prompted him to return to Taranaki where he began his journey as an artist. Learning how to articulate his vision, whether through painting or printmaking, has been his focus.

The buzz he gets from creating art is simply; ‘The doing. It’s the actual making of it. The problem solving.”

The brief for the student show (titled ‘Micro-climate’ by students to reference their sense of a rich, micro-climate of creativity at WITT and more widely in Taranaki) is to produce five works with the underlying theme based on a New Zealand author.

Iconic poet Sam Hunt is Ben’s chosen writer.  Hunt’s poem, Letter home provided the text he wanted to work with. He’s clipped lines from the poem that resonate for his art.

“In this body of work, I’ve put myself in the big blue dinghy. It’s quite an immersive experience in terms of how I’ve interpreted the quote.”

Captions: (top) Ben Dixon with his works at the WITT 'Micro-climate' student exhibition, (middle) Ben's work inspired by Sam Hunt's poetry and (bottom) Ben in his workspace at WITT's art department.