Just Toasted (2009)
NB/ All toast has been dipped in polyurethane and then spray lacquered by a professional panel beater and as a result is very durable. Like all artwork due care should be taken to insure its longevity. In fact, these works will withstand the harsh NZ light better than most types of “permanent” art.
You may laugh and dismiss Maurice Bennett’s work as a joke. But you should not.
You should laugh and think “wow, this man has created something truly special”. With an open mind please take some time to appreciate composition, texture, tone and in many instances witty commentary.
As a backgrounder, Bennett is best known nationally and internationally for his pixilated portraits of celebrities made from slices of toast. His toast portrait of Elvis, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the singer’s death, captured the world’s attention with images of it appearing most notably on CNN, BBC and in Time magazine. Further media attention followed with appearances on Billy Connolly’s Tour of New Zealand and on Ripley’s Believe it or Not. His work has been featured twice in the Guinness Book of Records, once for the largest toast mural and then for largest mural made from candy when he depicted Eminem using over 5,000 M&M’s.
His intimate knowledge of toast and its physical capabilities and limitations, have allowed him to explore new ways of manipulation. In 1999 Bennett created a billboard sized portrait of then Wellington Mayor Mark Blumskey using toast cooked/toned in a commercial toaster located at his New World supermarket in Island Bay. By the time of Bennett’s first solo show at South Coast Gallery (Island Bay in 2006) he had added a gas fired torch to his arsenal as a way of creating more intricate details in the works. This time, many of the works display his fondness for his new found tool, the oven.
The above mentioned media interest in Bennett’s work has been both advantageous and somewhat of a yoke to bear. On the one hand this stunning amount of publicity has taken him to great heights of fame but on the other hand, and as a direct result of this attention, his work is yet to be taken seriously by the art market. He has been tagged as a commercial sellout by many and not worth a second glance as a genuine Artist. Go for it Mr. Warhol!
Bennett has something that most artists only dream about. He has a point of difference.
He is without doubt an extraordinary self promoter and in many instances when someone blows their own trumpet I turn the other way. I am glad that I stood fast as my believing in Maurice means I have seen him develop and refine his ideas culminating into works of increasing mastery.
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