"Rowing for Gold"- Pop-up Gallery with Woolf Photography
Woolf Photography has always played a role the community...
...its passion for Wellington, its harbour and its people made it a natural partner for this latest fundraising venture with the Scots College Rowing Club.
The College first reached out to Simon during the summer training season to see if he would go out and take photos of the boys in action- what started as a goodwill gesture, turned into a wonderful photo opportunity for Simon Woolf- avid Wellington harbour photographer, lover of sunrises, hills, clouds and action.
The resulting body of work, centered around an early morning training session on the harbour, literally at first light, is a series of documentary shots of oars and boats at speed ("Into the Blue I & II") and moody silhouetted figures in the creeping light of day, on flat water.
These new Limited Edition works were featured in a " pop-up Art Gallery" set up, for one night only, at Premier House, to raise funds for the up-coming rowing crew at Scots College: a bold move by the club, and not your typical sausage sizzle or bake-sale approach. Artists were carefully selected for their special narrative around the theme of water, our ocean, islands and harbour ( a realm the Scots rowing squad knows well!).
Joining Simon in the mix are highly celebrated photographers Bruce Foster and Jason O'hara as well as local artists Elizabeth Thomson, Charlotte Handy and Geraldine Stevens. Last, but not least, a number of works, made available for the first time, celebrate New Zealand's Kermadec region (one of the world's last pristine open spaces) as well as individual works by John Pule and Fetu Feu'u. All of these artists generously donated a percentage of the proceeds to the club.
The event was well attended and hosted by the Hon. Chris Findlayson, with an address by Rob Morrison, responsible for resurrecting Rowing at Scots in the late 90's and funding their first Quad, the "Blind Kiwi". Both speakers commended the young men for their dedication and their grit: Ocean training being all the more challenging compared to rivers or lakes.
Simon's "Into the Blue I & II " Art works from the "Pop-up Gallery" are still on display in the wonderful CPAC building at Scots College and available for purchase . These are limited edition pieces, signed, with a Certificate of Authenticity.
To find out more about these and the other artworks, contact us or visit www.scotscollege.school.nz/scots-college-rowing-art-fundraiser/