Pat Hanly first visited the Coromandel in the 1960s, drawn to the creative energy of potter and conservationist Barry Brickell at Driving Creek. The coastline, with its sweeping bush and radiant light, became a place of both inspiration and renewal, revisited often in his sailing adventures along the western shore. By 1990, when Coromandel Cameos was commissioned in support of opposition to mining in the region, Hanly’s connection to the landscape had deepened into advocacy. The work reflects his impassioned response to the resurgence of commercial mining in the late 1980s, particularly the reopening of the Martha Mine. Visually, Coromandel Cameos is as constructed as it is painted. Hanly layers oil...