Roadworks

Many miles went into the making of Alby Carter’s Road Series, a classic example of which is this vibrant woodblock print of Kaihihi Road. To make one of these images, Carter would take his sketch pad for long wanders up and down Taranaki’s meandering coastal side roads and record the shapes and features of the land. Back at his studio, he would then condense the dozens of resulting sketches into a composite image that gives a kind of aerial view of his journey. The resulting large canvases and woodblock prints reflect Carter’s philosophy to create paintings not of things but about them. Kaihihi Rd. provides an expressive and colourful impression journey over that area where lahar mounds, sweeping pastures and the snaking Stony River jostle with one another for attention.