The Weird Ones

In The Weird Ones, brothers Paul and Mark Rayner apply wit, irony and playfulness to subjects or themes which transgress the socially acceptable norms to offer up a motley crew of unsettling characters.

Paul Rayner’s ceramic pieces are a contemporary interpretation of 18th century Staffordshire figurines. They represent those weird individuals who are the typical subjects of reality TV programmes and tabloid journalism; the 'circus freaks' of the 21st century. Mark Rayner has produced a series of ceramic busts and illustrated plates with subjects including social outcasts, serial killers, mutants, and perverts.

There is an element of the grotesque here; a style characterised by exaggeration, excess, the fantastic and sometimes the abject. But the subjects chosen by the Rayner brothers need little exaggeration, for they already represent what is grotesque or aberrant in contemporary society. These brightly glazed figurines combine beauty and vulgarity in careful measure, transforming freaks into charmers and catastrophes into comedies.

In essence the feat of the Rayner brothers is to make the grotesque appealing; in the words of Mikhail Bakhtin: “terror is conquered by laughter”.

Originally from England, the Rayner Brothers moved to New Zealand in the 1970s. Although his fine arts training was predominantly in painting, since 2004 Paul Rayner’s practice has centred on ceramic pieces referencing Toby jugs, Staffordshire figurines, and other populist, 'decorative' art forms.

Mark Rayner is largely self taught, and has been working in ceramics since 2003, producing works for local and national exhibitions during this time. Paul and Mark Rayner both work from their studio in Wanganui.

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