This was Barry Brickell’s first public art commission.

When our local post office was relocated from the historic Council Chambers building to the town centre in 1969, the architect for the new building invited me to make some ceramic tiles to incorporate into the brickwork of the entrance foyer. Taking up the challenge with alacrity, I made 10 glazed stoneware tiles depicting activities within the local district. Then he suggested I make a series of decorative elements to be spaced around the top of the brickwork. Not wanting to take this too literally, I decided to use the opportunity to be more idiosyncratic and produced a series of portraits of local characters.

After making a few of these, an official from the Post Office visited my studio to check on progress. On sighting them he warned me against making the building into a “fool’s gallery”. Stunned, I realised his advice was a little too late and one had already been installed. Heeding his advice (unwisely, I thought afterwards), I resorted to decorative rather than characteristic elements.

Following the official dedication of the new building by the Minister of Works of the time, I noticed that my portrait of a now deceased local character, Auntie Myrtle, had been plastered over. On a later visit I saw that the plaster had been carefully removed, once more revealing her face. Later, I learned that this had been done by some local young people. Heartened by this, I now wish that my original concept had been realised.

Also incorporated into the brick wall, are two lettered tiles in terracotta: a Maori translation by a local kaumatua of my mantra–’It is not the Thing, but How’.

Source: Barry Brickell, 'Plastic Memories: 38 years of story-telling in clay' (Driving Creek Press, 2013)

The translation is spread across two tiles, and reads:

[Tile 1:]“KAUA E TITIRO KI TE AHUA O TE MEA ENGARI KI A MATAU ME PEHEATIA”

[Tile 2]: “EHARA I TE MEA ANAKE ENGARI KO TE MATAURANGA ME PEHEA”