Robin Purllant loves to work with unconventional materials.
The artist won last year’s Radical Reuse category at the annual ArtWaikino exhibition, with his mixed-media portrait titled The Face of Homelessness.
“I was doing a series of artworks based on recyclable material… that one was a portrait of a homeless man I met in Auckland and I did quite a few portraits of him, quick pencil drawings,” he told The Profile.
“One day I was walking up the road and I saw a crushed beer can and it was all scratched with the silver of the can coming through the paint, and that gave me the idea of using these little metallic tiles to build up his face.”
Robin collected several cans from the side of the road, cut them into tiles, and etched out the portrait.
“It was quite a long, complicated process, but in the end, I did an artwork that portrayed [him] as a homeless man and used materials that he was very familiar with,” Robin said.
“I’ve had so much positive reaction about it.”
Former ArtWaikino winner Les Hughes’ work is also unusual – he calls it “junk art”.
“It’s deliberately low-budget, deliberately rough and rusty,” he said.
“I started making dragonflies with knives and forks and things… I like the idea of using stuff that people throw away.”
Les has won the Sculpture category two years in a row, with Hawk in 2024 and The Flight in 2025. Although art was just a hobby for him, Les said he appreciated the validation that came with people enjoying his work.
“There’s a lot of better artists out there than me… But I think it’s great that people have a chance to see what you do, there’s always someone going to like what you’re doing.”
With the 26th ArtWaikino Exhibition taking place over Labour Weekend, the organisers are looking forward to discovering many more interesting artworks and creators.
Entries for ArtWaikino close on October 11. Participants can enter up to three original pieces across the categories of painting, sculpture, craft, photography, and mixed media.
There are also two special awards: “Young Star” for youth artists, and “People’s Choice”.
All pieces will be for sale, with a commission going to the organising committee to be put towards the upkeep of Waikino Hall.
The commission has traditionally been 20 per cent. However, this year the committee will be reducing the commission to 15 per cent for pieces priced below $150.
“We’re hoping to make it more affordable for not only you but the good people hoping to take a small piece of you home with them,” they said in a social media post.
Meanwhile, both Robin and Les encouraged people to sign up and give the show a go.
“I just like the atmosphere and the environment. It’s very friendly,” Robin said.
“It’s a wonderful little show – it’s a great place to stop and have a cup of coffee and see some art.”
“Just do it, you’ve actually got nothing to lose,” Les added.
“[It’s] a chance for people like me who are complete amateurs to display their stuff, and it supports a good cause.”
DETAILS: ArtWaikino Exhibition, October 23-26, 10am-4pm at Waikino Hall. Gold coin entry, all pieces for sale. Entries close October 11, see www.waikinohall.org/artwaikino for more.
