Unity at Queenstown Airport
Queenstown Airport is doubling as an art gallery for the next few months. Natalya Doudell’s artwork titled ‘Unitiy’, will hang in the baggage claim area and is currently for sale through Wanaka Fine Art Gallery. If it’s sold while on display in the airport, a portion of the price will be donated to a local charity.
Tauranga-based Natalya was born in Ukraine and raised in Uzbekistan before moving to Aotearoa in 2003. She worked on the almost 10 metre by 2 metre artwork during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown and it took more than six months to paint. The idea of the painting was the need for people from all different backgrounds to unify in the trying time of Covid. From a distance you can’t see too much detail, but as you get closer the painting comes to life and you can see all the intricate individual features that Natalya has included.
“During the pandemic and during lockdown, my partner and I loved it, even if we had to stay in our own bubble, which was just the two of us. I was painting non-stop – but all this news on TV from all over the globe was pretty daunting to me because people in Europe and other countries were in apartments. They were stuck in there, families were torn apart, and people were isolated. All of us are different but we suffer the same – whether you’re rich or poor, white or black, young or old.
“I had this idea that all of us are so different but we should be connected because it was in the middle of the pandemic, and we didn’t know what was going to happen in the next few months or next year. I started painting and was painting for a few months nonstop,” says Natalya.
When she was painting, she had lots of people stopping by to have a look as they passed her – all were impressed with the work when they saw the painting up close at all the small details. Upon completion, Natalya sent the work to America for an art show and was surprised with the response. “I didn’t initially expect to get feedback from people – I was so overwhelmed. On some days I was crying because of course, I hoped people would like it and appreciate it, but I didn’t realise how deeply it touched people. I guess I achieved something with this one.”
The mega artwork had to be installed with the help of a scissor lift, and was hung at the airport in October. ‘Unity’ will continue to be displayed at the airport until after the Christmas period. If it hasn’t sold by that time, it will stay at the airport for a while longer, otherwise it will be shipped to its new home.
When viewing the painting, Natalya recommends that you view it from afar and then come closer and look at the details. This is where you will discover more, and it completely changes the artwork. She has been inundated with positive responses to her art, and is happy that it can be on display and shared with others. “I am absolutely thrilled and humbled by this work being on display at Queenstown Airport because people from all over the world come to Queenstown. It’s super amazing,” says Natalya.
‘Unity’ will be on display at Queenstown Airport baggage claim area until after the holiday period, and possibly beyond.
For more information on all of Natalya’s artworks, you can head to wanakagallery.com/gallery-artists/natalya-doudell/82
