Sugar and Spice by Don Driver

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Sugar and Spice

Sugar and Spice

Artist

Don Driver
Production Date

1980
Medium

found objects, plastic, steel, hemp, nylon and wood
Size

1430 x 720 x 590 mm
Credit

Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, 2001
Accession Number

C2001/1/8
Accession Date

27 Feb 2001
Department

New Zealand Art
Classification

Object
Collection

Chartwell
Subjects

found objects, dolls, popular culture, ice skates
Description

This sculpture’s title, Sugar and spice, hints at tasting pleasure yet, here, the phrase signifies the conflict between social and moral values. Don Driver’s assemblages systematically address issues of the depiction of women, girls and dolls. This is a confrontation with a subject matter that few other New Zealand visual artists have attempted to represent with such a devastating concentration. The gut-wrenching effect of Driver’s associations results from his use of everyday objects placed in difficult oppositions. (Self and Other, 2003)