Enter the north atrium and encounter an impressive, large-scale installation by Indigenous Australian artist Jonathan Jones, comprising more than 80 precisely spaced fluorescent battens.

The Sydney-based artist's work, untitled (sum of the parts), is created entirely of fluorescent lights and is perfectly positioned to create dynamic plays of light and shadow.

While the cross-hatching and chevron motifs created from the lights may appear as Western minimalism, for Jones they refer to the traditional Aboriginal concerns of country and community - their designs being based upon the carved patterning of Koori (south-eastern Aboriginal) shields and the markings on possum-skin cloaks.

Jones designed this conceptual work - acquired by the Chartwell Collection in 2010 - to be scalable to suit its architectural surrounds. In this instance it has been radically up-scaled to fill the south wall of the impressive 14.7 metre-high atrium. The work, which is visible from the street, complements the coinciding exhibition My Country: Contemporary Art from Black Australia.

This installation is supported by the Chartwell Trust and the Auckland Contemporary Art Trust.

Jonathan Jones, Rob Gardiner and Stephen Cleland next to untitled (sum of the parts) in the North Atrium, Auckland Art Gallery.

 

Jonathan Jones, untitled (sum of the parts), detail.

 

Jonathan Jones and Rob Gardiner next to untitled (sum of the parts) in the North Atrium, Auckland Art Gallery.