The Interview
For all of that, he has never put it out into the world as one body of work. This is the first time. What follows is Ted, in his own words, with a few from the friends who know him best.
A friend: what's the most Ted thing you've ever watched him do — the one that only makes sense if you know him?
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— [Artist friend's name]
What inspired you to pick up a camera as a young man?
I was inspired by the work of the French photographer Cartier-Bresson. I had no camera until at the age of sixteen I foiled a burglary at the shop next to where I lived. My reward was a German camera given by the grateful store owner.
What was your favourite photograph?
I think the portrait of old Bill the factory cleaner where I was apprenticed. Looking at him brings back so many memories of a young man working and recording life in London.
Is it true you photographed Prince Charles?
Yes. I was commissioned by friends of his to take a photo of him playing polo at Windsor. The image chosen became a framed print given to him on his 21st birthday.
What brought you all the way from England to the west coast of New Zealand?
I came to NZ to work within the printing industry as a laser scanner operator. I was made redundant with the stockmarket crash. Luckily I won an art award and used the money to start up a photography business.
You've photographed this same coast for decades. What keeps you coming back to it?
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What does a usual Sunday look like for you in Karekare?
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The new work is a real departure from the photographs. What changed for you?
I have always painted but photography became a means to earn a living. Then in 2017 I had a heart attack. Medical advice was to find a less stressful occupation, so painting at home became the norm.
What inspired your move into collage and printmaking?
Having a background within the printing industry has naturally led me into manipulating printed images as artwork. Also over time I have become a publisher of posters, greeting cards, calendars, and books.
After all these years, what inspired you to share this work and put it online?
Art is created to be shared. A lot of my art due to the date that it was created has now become a series of time capsules leading up to the present. Most of it has been stored away, and it is now time to share it.
A lot of your work focuses on icons of war. What draws you to making pieces about that?
It is not that I specifically choose to paint war images, it is the fact that a war has been going on from the day I was born until now. So it is recorded with paint.
What are you seeing in the headlines and stories that isn't being told?
For me the one thing that does not get a lot of press coverage is the never-ending destruction of the biomass with the urban sprawl eating away the natural world. When I arrived in New Zealand 1981 Auckland International Airport was surrounded by paddocks with cows grazing. Need I say more!
Last one. What's something you know now that you couldn't have known at the start?
Towards the end of your life you realise how valuable each day is. It is a gift not to be wasted, from dawn to dusk make the most of it.
A friend: what's the worst idea Ted ever talked you into — and did it actually work?
“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.”
— [Artist friend's name]
A friend: what's the one story Ted would kill you for telling? Tell it anyway.
“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam.”
— [Artist friend's name]
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