Creating a Language : A Conversation with Peter Robinson

Abstract

'Peter Robinson has enjoyed consistent critical acclaim since he left art school in 1988. He enlivened the biculturalism debates of the 1990s with his caustic wit; was part of the first New Zealand pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2001; consumed vast spaces with mountains of carved polystyrene in a series of installations between 2006 and 2012, including one that took out the 2010 Walters Prize. The key to Robinson's success may be that his work has never stagnated or meandered. As viewers, looking on from the outside, we see a continual, easy flow of new ideas. The following interview affords more insight into the rigorous thought processes and complex decisions usually obscured by the considerable impact of the art itself.'