Songwriter and Musician
Westlaker 1964
This sculpture was inspired by Dave McArtney’s song, Gutter Black.
Dave was interviewed by the New Zealand Herald and had this to say about his song, Gutter Black, “The song was written around 1973/74. But the week before it was released, my brother was killed in a car crash in Sydney, so I dedicated it to him. It's a song about life. It's about water flowing down from the Ganges into the sea, the process of life, the sea being bliss after death. That's actually the meaning of the song.”
Listen to Gutter Black here: https://bit.ly/3GxomMx
Dave founded Hello Sailor in the mid-1970s with musicians Graham Brazier and Harry Lyon (top image). He wrote and sang the group's classic song Gutter Black, which was used as the theme song to the television series Outrageous Fortune (2005 – 2010).
After Hello Sailor disbanded in 1980, Dave formed The Pink Flamingos and released their debut album Dave McArtney and The Pink Flamingos in 1980 (second image). They went on to produce We Never Close in 1982, I’m in Heaven in 1983, and The Catch in 1984.
He also produced for other musicians (including The Narcs) and composed music for film and television productions, including Incredible Mountains (1983), Queen City Rocker(1986) and Raglan by the Sea (1987).
His work was twice nominated for the APRA Silver Scroll in 1981 and 1995. He won five awards including Group of the Year, Album of the Year and best Male Vocalist at the 1981 Recording Industry Awards for the album Dave McArtney and The Pink Flamingos. At the 1984 New Zealand Music Awards he won best producer for the Narcs single “You Took Me Heart and Soul”. He was inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame in 2011 for his work in Hello Sailor.
Dave worked as a tutor at the Music and Audio Institute of New Zealand (MAINZ) from 2003 until his death in 2013, aged 62.
For more information go to: Dave McArtney - Wikipedia
Information about the sculptor
Jeff Thomson was born and raised in Castor Bay, Auckland. He attended Westlake Boys High School from 1971 – 1975 and went on to study at the Elam School of Art attached to the University of Auckland. Although he studied painting and printmaking, he made his move to become a fulltime sculptor in 1986 with a particular focus in using corrugated iron.
Jeff’s work often appears as large-scale sculptures of corrugated iron animals, birds, cars, and people, and include public works and commissions installed in towns and cities throughout New Zealand. Ten of his sculptures form part of Allan Gibb’s Kaipara Sculpture Park, known as “The Farm”. To date, Jeff has participated in nine of the “Sculpture on the Gulf” biennial exhibitions held on Waiheke Island.
Jeff has exhibited in New Zealand, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, and the US and has works held by the Heide Museum of Modern Art, Museum of New Zealand and a further two major public national galleries. He is recognised as one of New Zealand’s leading and most original contemporary artists today.
Jeff was instrumental in designing and constructing the archway (waharoa) that takes pride of place at the main school entrance. In 2017, when it was installed, the school began the tradition of welcoming Year 9 students and farewelling graduating Year 13 students as they walked beneath the arch.
You can read more about Jeff and his career here: https://bit.ly/3oDCrlD
