Brood
Ronnie van Hout (New Zealander, b.1962), Artist 2010 © All rights reserved See full details
Object Detail
Description
Brood is a fictionalised account of ‘The Full Gospel Mission’ a religious cult based in Canterbury from the 1970s until the late 1990s. The cult was led by Douglas Metcalf, who was regarded as a Messiah by the sect’s several hundred members, and it was his death in 1989 and subsequent revelations about his adultery with women which led to the collapse of the sect. In 1977 and 1987 police raided their commune, Camp David, after learning firearms were being stockpiled. In Brood, van Hout--who often includes self-portrait syled sculptures in his practice-- inserts himself and his own history into their narrative, by re-creating their commune with copies of buildings from artist’s childhood family farm. Van Hout’s own life history is collapsed into a surreal chronicle that escalades the drama inherent in ordinary New Zealand life but also challenges our desire for truth.
1 of 7 model buildings within the Brood group (based on buildings from the artist's childhood family farm)
1 of 7 model buildings within the Brood group (based on buildings from the artist's childhood family farm)
Title
Brood
Production date
2010
Media
cast polyurethane, dirt
Measurements
335 x 537 x 380mm (h x w x d)
Credit line
Collection of The Dowse Art Museum, gifted by the artist 2014
Accession number
2014.6.1/3A-G