Art seen: Six Times Seven

Ford’s work is an epitome of minimalism. His canvases are empty save for dots of uniform size, their colour and position dictated by computer program.

Despite the attractive austerity, there is wry philosophy here. The concept of Six Times Seven, ostensibly six paintings each with seven dots, connects with the repeated discoveries of the numbers and their product (42) in culture. From Douglas Adams’ use of 42 as the answer to the ultimate question of the meaning of life, by way of Biblical references, and even the artist’s age, the works become a deliberate search for meaning.

They are literal canvases upon which to project our pareidolic search for non-existent patterns. Since the exhibition was first planned, “6-7” has even become a popular, deliberately meaningless meme. The artist addresses the absurdity of the search for an understanding of the universe by presenting canvases that deliberately have no meaning… unless, that is, the lack of meaning is itself the meaning.

In an earlier exhibition, Ford stripped away the subtlety to present a sculpture of a dangled golden carrot. Here, the works become metaphorical dangled carrots, chances, no matter how obscure, to discover a meaning to it all.

Originally published: James Dignan, Otago Daily Times, 30th October 2025