Eion Shanks

A Dunedin School of Art (Oamaru Campus) graduate, Eion has worked as a stonemason but more recently followed an interest in acupuncture and has since trained in this field.  He believes acupuncture is creative in its own way and there are a lot of similarities to art. Eion paints on plywood with a palette knife leaving areas of the ply and the charoal outline sometimes visible.
"I find the natural surface of the woodgrain energetic and inspiring.  I also paint and draw on paper and make etchings. My paintings are essentially landscapes painted en plein air, or studio-created images from dreams about my life.  Or a combination of both.” 
Shanks describes his work as an "internal and external view of life. They are either stolen or enticed out to show themselves from their place of hiding. They are my journey as I see it.”  [Rebecca Fox, Otago Daily Times April 2018] 
Eion's 2026 exhibition: ADVENTURES OF DEATH IN PYJAMAS is his response to a quote by Zach Bush MD on the current state of humanity.  Eion references wildlife of Aotearoa in some of the works for their associated meanting and symbology.
Exhibition Runs: 28 August - 10 September