About Phill
A bit of information about the man and his work
About Phill
I was born in Melbourne in 1944. I spent my early working life as a steel worker in construction. I completed a Diploma in Fine Art at Ilam Art School in the ’60s.
I worked as an artist and teacher in London from 1973 to 1989 but have not included any of the works or commissions completed during my stay in London on this website.
I returned to NZ in 1989 to work as an artist. In 2012 I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. This has meant a slowdown in the amount of work I produce.
Acknowledgement
I want to express my gratitude to Helen, my life-partner over the past 50 years. Without her encouragement and support, this work would not have been possible. Thank you Helen for being my consistent ally.
Phill Rooke 2023.
Completed panel for Westgate Shopping Centre bus stop
About my work
My work over the years has been almost evenly divided between studio work, gallery exhibitions and sculptures made while working with and about workplaces and communities. This work comes under the heading of public sculpture.
The public sculpture and studio work have always been dependent on each other for their development. A major part of my work is poly-chrome high relief over wood.
Most of my studio work references an established artist or historical event:
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Frans Masereel's “The City” and my work “To the City.”
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Piero Della Francesca’s Angels and my series of Madonnas.
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The 1951 New Zealand waterfront strike.
Phill Rooke 2022
About my working process
As you browse through my work on this site you will notice that there are drawing and relief sculptures. Drawing has always been the starting point for developing ideas in the studio and for some time now my preferred starting point when creating work has been relief carving in wood.
Because a lot of my practice involved working alongside communities, an earlier stage of developing work is now largely invisible. Behind much of my work, particularly in the Public Work section are members of communities that I have worked alongside. Sometimes this has involved public meetings at others an ongoing process of working within small groups, developing ideas and finding ways of articulating common concerns. Drawing has always represented an important way of articulating those ideas and giving form to them.
Drawing in pencil is an important tool. This has often involved working on large sheets of watercolour and drafting paper. A whole series of these pieces might be needed to get into the details and to develop ideas to a stage where the engineering, construction and carving can begin.
However, my work has always involved more than wood and steel, stainless and iron are often included.
The last aspect deserving mention is colour. Painting the work has always been a crucially important part of the process. Colour often works on two levels. The first is it is used to add a greater sense of depth to the reliefs. The second is to capture the colour of everyday life. Faces, skin, clothes, buildings and landscapes all provide opportunities to add another level of expression and exactness to my work.
Phill Rooke 2024