The Rosebank Road Paintings

Rosebank Road was the location of the paint factory in which Sefton Rani's father once worked. Memories of the factory – enamel paint, viscous and slippery, vats of colour, the team of Pasifika workers, mixed languages, noisy machinery and the impact of seeing the factory burnt down during Sefton's boyhood – fed into this body of work.

The exhibition includes dark works with burnt surfaces and white pieces that link back to a monumental 6-panel work made during Rani's residency at McCahon House Parehuia. The artist lost his home and studio at Piha when Cyclone Gabrielle struck, and the residency became an opportunity to process this experience through his practice.

The works employ varied techniques and materials: layered ply excavated with drills, angle grinders, chisels and flame; paint from spray booths (Fordite); enamel paint skins cast on survey markers; and studio materials including sand and detritus. While abstract, the works are grounded in direct experience and material memory, referencing both the paint factory and Pasifika patterns through their formal language.