Screen-print on canvas and nylon, 30 x 30cm
33 keys, one dollar and sold tape.

“Anyone can go to Paradise. The beech forest, mountain peaks and rivers that were sold for a dollar are priceless to those who seek the peace and beauty of this remote private park.” - Suzanne Mahaffie, NZ Life and Leisure Magazine, Issue 14
 
Paradise: in the Septuagint (OT Greek translation) the word designated a garden (Gen 2:8-10) or forest (Neh 2:8); but in the NT (used only in Luke 23:43, 2 Col 12:4, Rev 2:7) it refers to a place of bliss and rest between death and resurrection. [NIV Study Bible]

Selected photos

Isa's talk from the Opening Night. Artists Talk About Their Work.
Wednesday 19 March 2008, 7:00-8:30pm, in the Gallery Space.

Facilitated by Sandra Atkins.

Isa Rive: Sometimes you find inspiration in the most unusual places and mine, for this, was in a Life and Leisure magazine of my mother's, which had a fantastic article in it. The main themes of the work are: 'space'; 'treasure'; and 'grace.'

'Paradise' seems to occupy an unexpected pause between the end and a new beginning. Space between death and rebirth, a still wilderness garden, isolated and peaceful.

And I've always been amused by the fact that there is such a place ['Paradise'] in New Zealand - forty minutes out of Queenstown, to be exact. In  a landscape virtually unchanged since the glaciers formed it many years ago. The Paradise that it talks about in the Bible, that would be more of a mystery. Where is it?

Suppose you discover a key and a treasure map in your eccentric uncle's attic. And you're filled with excitement and anticipation of what you might find. They journey you must embark on - adventure, maybe be danger. And you finally reach the 'X-marks-the-spot' [indicates the 'X' pattern formed by the keys on the second picture of the triptych]. And out come the spades. You're digging until you the hard green lid. And will the key turn in that rusty lock? It's pretty stiff so you all crowd 'round for the first glimpse, as you prise open the lid.

Thirty-three keys of mystery. The key, it reminded me a little bit of an embryo in the pregnancy space in life's cycle. It is said "Where your treasure is, there your heart is, too" and the symbols on the curtains [indicates the coverings over the first picture of triptych] represent distraction the from adventure.

So we've got [indicating individual emblems] money, you've got power, violence, greed, apathy, ignorance. The first criminal's disregard for the future, hiding the opportunity. And grace for the second criminal [indicates the third picture]. The story of overwhelming generosity. One hundred and twenty-nine keys. Beautiful, South Island Paradise . . . Offered to be sold for $1. David Miller made his paradise open to all and set up a trust before he died . . . And you can rent one of several huts that they have there. It's a magical place, where you can camp, explore, relax and roam free. Busy 21st Century life melting away, to bliss and rest. Paradise. Space, treasure, grace.

Sandra: Isa, did you make any discoveries on . . . did the meaning of paradise change as you . . .

Isa: I just assumed that paradise meant heaven, but according to my NIV Study Bible, it means, in the Old Testament, a garden or a forest, and in the New Testament it means a place of bliss or rest between death and resurrection. Quite a different concept to what I imagined.