Tony Fomison: Lost in the DarkTony Fomison: E ngaro ana i te pōuri

An exhibition of Tony Fomison’s paintings, featuring monsters, misfits, and medical deformities that explores what it means to be an outsider.

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When | Āhea

18 Aug – 4 Nov 2018

Where | Ki hea

Toi Art, Level 4

Cost | Te utu

Free entry

Accessibility | E wātea ana ki

wheelchair accessible

In the late 1960s, dark things began to emerge from Tony Fomison’s paintings. His monsters, misfits, and medical deformities challenged polite society, and explored what it means to be an outsider.

This was a particularly troubled period in Fomison’s life. He had just returned to Christchurch from travels in Europe and was broke, grappling with drug addiction, and cynical about society.

Yet the humanity of his grotesque paintings resonated profoundly with many – making him one of the most important New Zealand painters of his generation.

Tony Fomison: Lost in the Dark is a collaboration between Wellington High School students and Te Papa.

Students workshopped the theme of ‘otherness’ in Fomison’s work, which helped shape our creative approach.

Response wall

Tony Fomison: Lost in the Dark is a collaboration between Wellington High School students and Te Papa.

Students workshopped the theme of ‘otherness’ in Fomison’s work, which helped shape our creative approach. They also designed a response wall – so you can share your own thoughts about Fomison’s paintings in the exhibition space.

Tony Fomison, *Hill top watcher*, 1976, oil on canvas. On loan from Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū; N Barrett Bequest Collection, purchased 2010

Installation view of *Tony Fomison: Lost in the Dark*, 2018. Photo by Maarten Holl. Te Papa

Installation view of *Tony Fomison: Lost in the Dark*, 2018. Photo by Maarten Holl. Te Papa
Artworks:
Tony Fomison, *No!*, 1971, oil on canvas. On loan from Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū
Tony Fomison, *Study of hands on page 235 of ‘Roxburgh’s Common Skin Diseases’ 12th edition 1961*, 1971, oil on hessian. Te Papa (1997-0007-01)
Tony Fomison, *Christ*, 1976, oil on canvas. Te Papa (1976-0034-1)

Installation view of *Tony Fomison: Lost in the Dark*, 2018. Photo by Maarten Holl. Te Papa
Artworks:
Tony Fomison, *From a Mark Adams photo of a Sunnyside patient*, 1972, oil on canvas. Te Papa (1998-0038-1)
Tony Fomison, *Wildman*, 1973, oil on canvas. Te Papa (1979-0035-4)
Tony Fomison, *Facial hypertrichosis*, 1970, oil on canvas. On loan from a private collection
Tony Fomison, *Malaria victim, New Guinea*, 1970, oil on canvas. Te Papa (1998-0019-1)
Tony Fomison, *Hill top watcher*, 1976, oil on canvas. On loan from Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū
Tony Fomison, *Detail for a dancing skeleton*, 1970, oil on hessian. On loan from a private collection

Installation view of *Tony Fomison: Lost in the Dark*, 2018. Photo by Maarten Holl. Te Papa
Foreground artwork:
Tony Fomison, *Portrait of a lag (kitchen)*, 1970, oil on canvas. Te Papa (1972-0037-1)
Real Modern tells a vibrant and varied story of real life in this compelling era through images and, above all, objects.

Installation view of *Tony Fomison: Lost in the Dark*, 2018. Photo by Maarten Holl. Te Papa
Foreground artwork:
Tony Fomison, *Detail for a dancing skeleton*, 1970, oil on hessian. On loan from a private collection

Discover moreKia kitea ake

Watch: Tony Fomison at work
See rare footage of Tony Fomison at work, captured on glorious Super 8 by New Zealand experimental film-maker Martin Rumsby.
“There is nowhere to go if something’s inside of you”: Wellington High School’s Elijah Neilson on Tony Fomison
“I think much of what he paints is an expression of feelings too big for your body. He makes these things that impress upon you from the outside. That can feel better than something emerging from the inside, because there is nowhere to go if something’s inside of you.”
How to design an exhibition for teens? Co-create it with them
‘Tony Fomison: Lost in the Dark’ is co-created with students from Wellington High School, which involved working together across a number of creative sessions. Here, Experience Designer Chloe Johnston channels her inner teen.
“I really enjoy the way that they make me think”: Wellington High School’s Rose Wallington on Tony Fomison
“I still kinda hate the way that they look, but I really enjoy the way that they make me think.”
Tūrangawaewae: Art and New Zealand
From Te Papa’s art collection comes a dynamic exhibition across five galleries. The art works here explore identity and cross-cultural exchange.
Closed
17 Mar 2018 – 13 Sep 2021
Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga
“The themes in his work always have a place in society”: Wellington High School’s Aroha Millar on Tony Fomison
“The themes in his work always have a place in society – especially today where so many people are outcasts from their own countries.”
Détour by Michael Parekowhai
Whimsical but with a critical edge, ‘Détour’ is Michael Parekowhai’s response to the repositioning of contemporary art at Te Papa with the opening of the new gallery.
Closed
17 Mar – 8 Nov 2018
Exhibition Ngā whakaaturanga