The Castle in the Sky
The Castle in the Sky explores unexpected moments of beauty found through the lens of a restless creative mind bound to the routine of courier work. Emerging from the artist’s daily routes, this project captures how golden-hour light transforms mundane street scenes into moments of inspiration. What began as a growing archive of reference photos taken on the job evolved into a reflection on the tension between creative ambition and the demands of part-time work.
Residing within a spiralling dream state of the creative mind, the ‘Castle’ represents an unobtainable vision of the perfect creative life. This idea floats in the periphery like a distant rainbow — tantalising and alluring, but forever just out of reach. Reality bends around this flawless facade, obscuring imperfections hidden within.
Each painting began in these reveries — fleeting golden snapshots of beauty caught mid-delivery. Ideas surfaced and faded during long hours on the road, hurriedly noted before being left to endlessly circle and evolve in the mind. The works drift between realism and surrealism, contrasting the cold hustle of city life with the slow persistence and perfection found in nature.
This duality reflects a common struggle among creatives, felt as a push and pull between two seemingly conflicting identities. Yet within that tension lies a fragile balance — a harmony which begs gratitude for the ‘dreaded’ day job. The Castle in the Sky invites viewers to pause and consider the overlooked, mundane moments in their lives, and appreciate how they shape who we are. The brightest highlights of life draw their meaning from these quiet, ordinary moments that surround them.
The Castle in the Sky was hosted at Te Auaha Gallery (Wellington, NZ) from November 13th - 30th, 2025.
This debut solo exhibition showcased a new series of oil paintings created from a curated selection of 350+ reference photographs, taken by the artist over five years on delivery routes. The work comprises a large series of painting ‘studies’ created under unique challenges, crescendoing into the Pièce de résistance - An epic surrealist mashup of all the artist’s dreams, inspirations and ideas that led to the exhibition’s creation.
The exhibition also featured a opportunity for audience drawing participation, workshops from two guest artists, on-site sculpture work by the artist, and a 10 minute documentary created which followed the entire process.
The Documentary
A 10min documentary comissioned to capture the entire exhibition process - from ideation, painting and opening, to an in-gallery final reflection.
Opening Event
Gallery Space
30 day painting challenge
This month-long painting experiment explores creativity under constraint. Thirty studies were completed each day over the course of July, under strict self-imposed parameters.
The process began with 30 scenes selected from more than 350 reference photos taken during five years of courier work. Alongside these, 30 unique painting challenges were devised to disrupt comfort, push boundaries, and force innovation.
Every day, a random scene and challenge were drawn, and a panel size chosen from a set of pre-prepared variations. With no pre-planning allowed, the artist had just two hours to complete the painting from start to finish.
The entire series was created using a limited palette of Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red, Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Umber, and Titanium White. Each artwork is presented in repurposed op-shop frames, painted and installed by the artist.
Final Paintings
‘The Study of a Dream’ - Oil on ACM, repurposed op-shop frame
Created to test the composition and colours on a small scale before starting on the larger version.‘Wanderer Above the Sea of Slime’ - Oil on ACM, repurposed op-shop frame
This piece was inspired by and adapted from the 1818 oil painting ‘Wanderer above the Sea of Fog’ by Caspar David Friedrich. The original reference shot was taken in Seatoun Heights.‘Stretch and Twist’ - Oil on ACM, repurposed op-shop frame
This piece was inspired by and adapted from the 1947 lithograph print ‘High and Low’ by M.C. Escher. The original reference shot was taken at Clyde Quay Warf.‘Dream Caused by the Flight of a Snail Around a Banana’ - Oil on Canvas, Custom layered frame with gold inner edge
This piece was inspired by and adapted from the 1944 oil painting ‘Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening’ by Salvador Dalí. The original reference shot was taken in Brooklyn.
Clark Roworth on-site mural
Guest artist Clark Roworth joined the exhibition to paint live in the space, transforming a movable wall into a unique four-sided temporary mural.
Clark is an New Zealand contemporary painter. He is concerned with figurative subject matter and portraiture. Since living in Wellington, Clark has embarked on a journey of learning, honing his craft through a diverse array of teachers. Constantly pushing himself to try new areas of art, Clark loves to experiment and try notoriously difficult subject matter.
In his work he wants to portray an honest and striking image to elicit emotion and a sense of imaginative, disrupted realism
Ngā mihi -Clark
www.clarkr.art
@clarkroworth
Tamara Irvine Sculpture Workshop
Viewers were invited to join a relaxed collaging session that became part of a collaborative sculpture. Tamara framed the workshop as a moment to slow down, to meditate and kōrero on what we can learn from the snail: patience, resilience, and the importance of living at a sustainable pace, especially within a capitalist culture that constantly pushes us to rush and be productive.
Tamara, a multidisciplinary artist based in Te Whanganui a Tara, shared how the snail holds personal significance for them, symbolising life lessons learned through living with chronic fatigue. The project was shaped in response to my exhibition Castle in the Sky, alongside Elisabeth Tova Bailey’s book The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating.
Artist on-site sculpture
A new sculpture piece worked on by the artist while gallery sitting for the exhibition duration.
Audience Participation
Viewers were invited to grab a pencil and try a random challenge in a simplified version of the method used for the paintings. Each drawing was done within 5 minutes and then taped to the wall, creating a collaborative installation which evolved throughout the month.
Thanks
‘The Castle in the Sky’ was a momunmental project spanning many months, which would not have been possible without the generous collaboration and help of the following:
Ferg: Documentary creative director, design rollout assets
Shush: Documentary videography & editing, gallery photography
Nathan Blundell: Opening photography
Olivia Kirikiri: Te Auaha gallery curator
Te Auaha: Exhibition venue
Brian & Susan Fastier: Exhibition setup
Kane Wills: Logo sketches
Tiny Signs: Wall decal
Handy Hands: Decal install
Z3D: Artwork imaging
Eyeball Kicks: Framing
The Big Picture: Printing