A contemplation of deterioration, and an exploration of meaningful production as a subset of care.
The COVID-19 lockdown brought the repair and construction of the footpath to a halt. Markings from tools and previous layers of grout lay broken. A lull in productivity and progress to admire the way, Mahon Way, a well-trodden path.
Small poetic moments of urban decay ripple out, visible through the ever-expanding mask of concrete—the mark of empire building since Roman times, now exposed for interpretation.
Footpath fossil (breathe) (2020)
Other works by Nat Tozer
Nat Tozer
Every existent in the world is in my room right now (2020)
The highs and lows of a family home during lockdown soundtrack scenes of the abstract, durational progression of dust particles through a series of small rooms.
Nat Tozer
Is it a rock, is it a mirror (2023)
A public curiosity found at Ruakaka one summer camping trip shows collective engagement through the preservation of chewing gum. Quietly countering the reigning corporate paradigm, this small marvel, a tolerated totem of community and collective, persists.
Nat Tozer
Tidelines and Islands (2024)
A portrait of a family photo album left unintentionally exposed to the elements and processes of decay; a document of a family home in rural 1970s Aotearora, its memories are distorted but recognisable.
Nat Tozer
Erotic Geologies (trailer) (2024)
A sci-fi parable that seeks knowledge from the underground, Erotic Geologies follows protagonists Rangi and Liberté, characters inspired by both Māori mythologies surrounding the figures of Ranginui and Papatūānuku’s children, and Greek figures Deucalion and Pyrrha.
Related podcast
Erotic Geologies: Nat Tozer
Erotic Geologies: Nat Tozer
CIRCUIT Cast #121
"There is a vitality that is held in the earth" — a kōrero between artist Nat Tozer and CIRCUIT director Mark Williams on the occasion of the Aotearoa premiere of Erotic Geologies, Tozer's most complex work to date.