This item was sold to another member.
- Browse Carvings & sculpture
'Nick Smith in the shit.'
-
Reserve met
- Closed: Fri 6 Nov 2009, 9:30 pm
- Listing #: 250472279
Portrait of New Zealand's environment minister Nick Smith by Sculptor Sam Mahon.
Medium: Cow manure.
The sculpture is light and hollow and highly polished. It sits on a steel stand slightly right of centre.
Pickup would be available
Medium: Cow manure.
The sculpture is light and hollow and highly polished. It sits on a steel stand slightly right of centre.
Pickup would be available
Please read the questions and answers for this auction.
Shipping details
- Free shipping within New Zealand
- Seller allows pick-ups
- Seller is located in Amberley, Canterbury
Payment details
- NZ bank deposit
- Cash
About the seller
- 0% positive feedback
- Member since Oct 2009
Closes: Fri 6 Nov, 9:30 pm. 2009 This auction used auto-extend. 
Questions and answers
Hi there - I have made an error in bid pand was intending to put $600.00 please could you remove the last bid thanks.
Do you believe the bust is durable - would you need to keep it moisture free?
vinc2 (39 
)
7:59 pm, Wed 28 Oct
Hi there - I have made an error in bid pand was intending to put $600.00 please could you remove the last bid thanks.
Do you believe the bust is durable - would you need to keep it moisture free?
)
7:59 pm, Wed 28 Oct
all done.
10:21 am, Fri 30 Oct
all done.
10:21 am, Fri 30 Oct
hey man, no way i can affort this but... just wanted to say THIS RULEZ \m/
vis_a_vis (0 
)
11:40 am, Thu 29 Oct
)
11:40 am, Thu 29 Oct
Thanx. X
10:22 am, Fri 30 Oct
OMG brilliant...i love it...surely it should be bill english though..lol
steptoe2005 (88 
)
2:49 pm, Thu 29 Oct
)
2:49 pm, Thu 29 Oct
I'd have to cast it in twenty dollar Bills...
10:23 am, Fri 30 Oct
Already used that on the chairman of Ecan.
10:24 am, Fri 30 Oct
Very cool. Although what did you use to preserve the sculpture media.
Many congrats
angelminx (101 
)
5:40 pm, Thu 29 Oct
)
5:40 pm, Thu 29 Oct
Fibreglass resin.
10:25 am, Fri 30 Oct
Title should be "Nick Smith is Shit". Can you change it to this please?
slazzla (253 
)
5:45 pm, Thu 29 Oct
)
5:45 pm, Thu 29 Oct
Too late. next time.
10:25 am, Fri 30 Oct
*
9:56 am, Thu 5 Nov
If you made one of George W Bush, you wouldn't be able to make it hollow, as the man really is full of shit!
new_lizard (97 )
6:14 pm, Thu 29 Oct
)
6:14 pm, Thu 29 Oct
Well I did receive a call from the Teleban with this request. The line was very echoy, sounded like the call was being made from a cave somewhere. Before I could explain that Bush is no longer their issue the line went dead.
9:58 am, Thu 5 Nov
I guess this brings new meaning to the term polititions are full of shit
fishcollector (685 
)
6:16 pm, Thu 29 Oct
)
6:16 pm, Thu 29 Oct
Well I did hear another definition from an american journalist who said "Politics is show biz for the ugly."
9:59 am, Thu 5 Nov
I guess this brings new meaning to the term polititions are full of shit
fishcollector (685 )
6:16 pm, Thu 29 Oct
)
6:16 pm, Thu 29 Oct
ditto
10:01 am, Thu 5 Nov
Is this the result of traditional chemically treated pasture or organically grown pasture? I can't tell the difference, would I be able to smell the difference? Cheers
nelsonman (27 )
6:16 pm, Thu 29 Oct
)
6:16 pm, Thu 29 Oct
It's organic, which sort of undermines the statement a little. But the chances of my being able to wander around a regular dairy farm in these polarised times without getting molested is slim.
10:58 am, Sat 31 Oct
Sam you are an absolute legend, well done!! Still fondly remember when I brought my class out from Discovery 1 last year for a day with you in your workshop. One of the best days ever in all my teaching, the kids and parents still rave about it! Thank you again for taking a public stand for something this important. Hope you and your partner are both well :) Melva
itsyo (305 )
6:17 pm, Thu 29 Oct
)
6:17 pm, Thu 29 Oct
Hi melva(?) Ive got as show opening at Coca on Tuesday. Bring the class. it's on for two weeks. They'll like it. X
10:35 am, Fri 30 Oct
nick smith has made some terrible public statements lately, this is a fitting tribute
nsrpaul (101 )
6:21 pm, Thu 29 Oct
)
6:21 pm, Thu 29 Oct
*
10:00 am, Thu 5 Nov
~
10:01 am, Thu 5 Nov
Thank you for your comment. I agree with you that the machine itself is not the problem; its the odd gritty cog that tends to spoil things. Happy days, Sam.
11:01 am, Sat 31 Oct
Does it smell of the material made or is that just the subject matter?
alexsuperdj (129 )
7:26 pm, Thu 29 Oct
)
7:26 pm, Thu 29 Oct
It has no smell now, but the coffee grinder in which we reduced the dry pats to powder, retains the lingering odure of both paddock and politics.
11:04 am, Sat 31 Oct
Is it a joke? Well, I guess it's really satire in so much as the underlying theme is really quite serious. If the health of our remaining rivers continues to decline through Nick's inattention I will have nowhere to take my children where i can share with them some of the best memories of my life.
11:07 am, Sat 31 Oct
Unholy shit
10:02 am, Thu 5 Nov
would like to know...if the coffee grinder..which was used to make this is still being used for the coffee?
gladone (114 )
7:58 pm, Thu 29 Oct
)
7:58 pm, Thu 29 Oct
yes. But we live in an old flour mill, and tainted coffee is small beans to the fact that we have a resident rat population who seem to think they are paying the rates. One walked past two nights ago while i was watching Friends. He was shuffling a bar of soap across the floor. I asked my partner if she would mind terribly if i shot him (the rifle is always close at hand:You know, dairy farmers; Ku Klux Klan) She said no, that it would wake the baby. Tainted coffee? No big deal.
11:12 am, Sat 31 Oct
So far the media has been more than kind
10:03 am, Thu 5 Nov
Can you make another one with my manure? I understand it'll be quite difficult because it's abit soft.
ejkddorai (46 )
8:29 pm, Thu 29 Oct
)
8:29 pm, Thu 29 Oct
I'm not permitted to use highly caffinated substances
10:04 am, Thu 5 Nov
Good on ya Sam-- what a fabulous piece of art! Save the Hurunui!
All best.
yarimochi (88 )
8:49 pm, Thu 29 Oct
)
8:49 pm, Thu 29 Oct
Cheers.
11:12 am, Sat 31 Oct
Is there enough??!
10:06 am, Thu 5 Nov
I painted him once. It was a beautiful pastoral scene with Rob lying in a ditch at the bottom of it. There was a bullet hole in his head. This was around twenty five years ago. I was allowed to display it at my exhibition opening, but had to take it down for the following two weeks. it would have offended too many of the Christchurch art patrons. There is a little english oligarchy here that seems to run us.
11:19 am, Sat 31 Oct
Excellent likeness, figuratively and formally. If you don't meet the reserve, you could donate it to Nelson as a public monument.
miranda_b (15 )
9:46 pm, Thu 29 Oct
)
9:46 pm, Thu 29 Oct
It's an interesting thing that my portraits do not always capture the subject accurately at the time. But very often, given a few years, the person portrayed grows to fit the portrait.
10:09 am, Thu 5 Nov
Hey Sam, very good effort for this work considering it is a piece of sh**e. Did you tell me about this work in progress? In any event, I have a couple of stainless steel shower trays put aside for you at work, cheers Mike
daryl19 (82 )
9:53 pm, Thu 29 Oct
)
9:53 pm, Thu 29 Oct
You beauty! Fancy meeting up with you here in cyberspace. We're both bogged down with work at the moment but are free middle of this coming week. I'm showing Nick at the COCA gallery for two weeks starting tuesday. Happy days.
11:21 am, Sat 31 Oct
Always enjoy your work Sam, but this is simply fantastic!
Thanks so much, I am sharing it in the networks I hope you get your price and more. Keep on keeping on.
simon.says (66 )
10:06 pm, Thu 29 Oct
)
10:06 pm, Thu 29 Oct
Cheers.
11:22 am, Sat 31 Oct
How did you get such a good look to the finish when your subject is such an ugly prick ?
satria16 (15 )
10:08 pm, Thu 29 Oct
)
10:08 pm, Thu 29 Oct
Every artist puts a little of himself into his portraits.
11:23 am, Sat 31 Oct
Wot? And lose even more friends?
10:09 am, Thu 5 Nov
You flatter him! If this beauty doesn't reach reserve will you tour it to the provinces - please?
soozee3 (71 )
10:48 pm, Thu 29 Oct
)
10:48 pm, Thu 29 Oct
Hmmm...
11:24 am, Sat 31 Oct
Great work Sam, I think you have chosen a great way to get the message about Dairy pollution out there. I live in South Canterbury and our region has exploded in diary in the last ten years, with devastating effects for our waterways. Keep up the good work, Bryce Caird
cairdy (10 )
8:06 am, Fri 30 Oct
)
8:06 am, Fri 30 Oct
Thank you Bryce. It's bloody hard work using the usual mechanisms. Satire is really the best thing I can do. I have another book coming out in July; The great terrain robbery. It addressing these complex issues but this time i have used many voices. Cheers.
11:26 am, Sat 31 Oct
How heavy is it. I ask because, like Nick Smith, it could be of llittle substance ....
geoff3 (218 )
9:02 am, Fri 30 Oct
)
9:02 am, Fri 30 Oct
I think it weighs about as much as an average trout living in the Hurunui gorge just above the confluence with the Mandamus river.
10:11 am, Thu 5 Nov
As I have said, we used the coffee grinder to reduce the dry cow pats to usable material. i can assure you it has great taste.
10:12 am, Thu 5 Nov
My reserve is very quickly disappearing. Every time I am asked a question i tend to answer without thinking.
10:13 am, Thu 5 Nov
I'm saving that for Gerry Brownlee
10:14 am, Thu 5 Nov
Can you bring the sculpture to Parliament on the 17th November. The National Bikeoi will be fronting said 'shit head' about his ACC plans.
Would be nice to have a suitable effigy present as well.
In any event excellent work. \m/
paul520 (4 )
3:44 pm, Fri 30 Oct
)
3:44 pm, Fri 30 Oct
It's tied up as an exhibition piece for now, but good luck with your fight. For a govt who got in on tax breaks they seem to have no problems coming up with many and varied ways of turning that principle around.
11:30 am, Sat 31 Oct
You should have made it out of bullshit , because a hell of a lot of it comes out of your mouth !!!!
jerry56 (89 )
3:57 pm, Fri 30 Oct
)
3:57 pm, Fri 30 Oct
True
10:14 am, Thu 5 Nov
Yes
10:15 am, Thu 5 Nov
Such a poiniant medium in these desperate times.
Nick Smith can laugh it off in the media, but 2000 people marching to save the Hurunui River recently should be a good barometer for Ministers Smith and 'Farter' Carter that they need to pull finger instead of cosying up to the corporate dairy mafia and greedy mobs of farmers who need to give back, not steal more from our rivers.
bwindust (0 )
7:31 pm, Fri 30 Oct
)
7:31 pm, Fri 30 Oct
Totally agree. Cheers.
11:37 am, Sat 31 Oct
Hi would a black shirt fit this sculpture one that has collar for lapel badges, like style of 1938-45? political leader? Also your medium was it femented first or extruded or both? the final resting place for this peice of shit should be Nelson flea market
president5 (40 )
12:26 pm, Sat 31 Oct
)
12:26 pm, Sat 31 Oct
The medium underwent a certain amount of rumination of course and was certainly extruded. I would have preferred to have painted it into the molds in layers letting each layer dry and build up a very textured finish. I think Nick is a very textured individual, far too intelligent for the political theatre in which he is poorly cast. But then we all choose our own plays.
6:10 pm, Mon 2 Nov
Horizons regional council in manawtu are crowing that the number of farms discharging has dropped from 400 to 10 but they fail to say that these huge farms milk hundreds of cows each turning the manawatu river into a hihly polluted river and with palmerston north also discharging into it the river id DEAD.Lets make money at any cost .Well done sam ,basher bromley would be proud of you
boxerlady (150 )
3:14 pm, Sat 31 Oct
)
3:14 pm, Sat 31 Oct
It is a major flaw, I think, that Environment Canterbury's regulatory arm is not able to prosecute for cumulative effect. The Pahau river near where we live is a good example of where many farms are discharging effluent within allowable levels, but the combined effect has been disastrous.
6:16 pm, Mon 2 Nov
Congratulations on a clever piece of artwork, I'd love to see you do a Sue Bradford, imagine what you could use to mold her out of lol, the mind boggles
superaudio (574 )
4:31 pm, Sat 31 Oct
)
4:31 pm, Sat 31 Oct
I have a blacksmith friend in Twizel. He said to me recently that what Sue Brabdford needed was 'a bare-bottom spanking across the anvil.' I think it was meant as endearing.
10:18 am, Thu 5 Nov
I'm afraid it might just be so. Every day i avoid mirrors in case my worst suspicions are proved.
6:19 pm, Mon 2 Nov
While a hollow head is apt, so also would shit for brains! -cheers
rsamember (70 )
9:58 pm, Sat 31 Oct
)
9:58 pm, Sat 31 Oct
*
10:18 am, Thu 5 Nov
Here's an idea for your next one - a sculpture of Mohammed and list it on ebay! See what sort of reaction that gets :)
kiwi-diablo (3 )
10:14 am, Sun 1 Nov
)
10:14 am, Sun 1 Nov
Salman Rushdie's working on it. He can take the heat.
10:20 am, Thu 5 Nov
Sam - of course the question de jour which must be asked is, what in God's name were you doing watching Friends on TV anyway?
;-)
ben67 (264 )
8:17 pm, Sun 1 Nov
)
8:17 pm, Sun 1 Nov
It's a game. We have watched the series so many times before that we try to beat each other to the punch line. No, that's not true; really we're sitting there waiting for a re-run of Northern Exposure.
6:27 pm, Mon 2 Nov
sorry sam hope you feel proud of yourself, you know this is ultimate plagirism, this work was accomplished in dunedin in the early 90s and well published in media including the odt and on tv2 night news back in the days when marcus lush was presenting, think guest who profiled the story was ben elton.
after year of the horse have admired your work, now wonder if you have run out of ideas and concepts? its to close to be a coincidence?
downie2 (60 )
11:09 pm, Sun 1 Nov
)
11:09 pm, Sun 1 Nov
I've also painted a crucifixion and you could say that really Grunewald was where it all should have ended. I've also painted a great number of reclining nudes and I certainly do not claim to be the first to do that. It's not the words, or brush strokes that are really important, its the way we assemble them that makes the difference. It is also the context and the timing. But thank you for the comment.
6:33 pm, Mon 2 Nov
Nice one Sam. Even a crypto-facist like me can appreciate this one ;-p. Cheers, Alex the surveyor.
dufflad (65 )
4:54 pm, Mon 2 Nov
)
4:54 pm, Mon 2 Nov
Alex, I've just finished a new book on tenure review. It's called 'The great terrain robbery.' It should be out middle of next year, still working on the illlustrations. You have reminded me, you evil man, to include you. Happy days!
10:22 am, Thu 5 Nov
Actually why do you have a TV at all? That's minus a few dozen Steiner cred points for you and Ali...
ben67 (264 )
6:28 pm, Mon 2 Nov
)
6:28 pm, Mon 2 Nov
Ben, we keep it in a freezing room and it is an uncomfortable thing to sit and watch. Friends is sugar after a hard day. But sometimes there are gems like 'Girl in a cafe'; a brilliant political play about the G8...at 11pm, of course. We may throw the thing out. I remember one night sitting there with the rifle across my knee and after the second rat dropped from the rafters in a hail of bird shot Ali turned to me and said, "Do real people live like this?"
6:39 pm, Mon 2 Nov
OK Sam, you're off the hook (actually I subscribe to Steiner dogma almost as readily as I do to the current economic development dogma-du-jour).
As an aside this is a somewhat bizarre way to communicate - non?
ben67 (264 )
2:18 am, Tue 3 Nov
)
2:18 am, Tue 3 Nov
Oui. But not for long. We are not on line and this is purely a temporary situation. I have had to cross three paddocks and a poluted stream to access a computor for this morning's update.
9:38 am, Thu 5 Nov
DOES IT TALK SHIT!! LOL DO A RODNEY! JUST A PILE WOULD BE FINE FOR HIM!
tone61 (268 )
8:15 am, Tue 3 Nov
)
8:15 am, Tue 3 Nov
I missed out on his fundraiser yesterday in ChCh. But I was glad to see that our local mayor, Gary Jackson, went along courtesy of our rates. Now I am not only funding a pr campaign to dam the Hurunui through the Sustainable Farming Fund (Our taxes) and an appeal against the Water Conservation order protecting lake sumner (local rates), but I'm also, apparently, funding the Act party.
10:26 am, Thu 5 Nov
Trade Me CEO Jon MacDonald talked about this auction on RadioLIVE this morning. You can take a listen here: http://tr.im/DWRI
teamdj1 (10 )
11:54 am, Tue 3 Nov
)
11:54 am, Tue 3 Nov
*
10:27 am, Thu 5 Nov
ANYONE WHO BIDS ON THIS DISGUSTING OBJECT IS AS LACKING IN MORAL DECENCY AS THE SCULPTOR.
korax (161 )
3:46 pm, Tue 3 Nov
)
3:46 pm, Tue 3 Nov
I would have thought that anyone who accepts the position of environment minister would have the health of the environment as their bottom line. But by supporting the status quo- the transfer of a public asset, water, into private hands- Nick disenfranchises us all; especially my children. He threatens to deprive them of their property (the commons) and their health. I can't, for the life of me, see anything moral in that.
9:52 am, Thu 5 Nov
To reply to President5, Sam's not full of shit; the problem is the rivers are. I grew up in Canterbury in the 1960s and '70s and swam and fished in all those rivers - OUR rivers. Now I can't in most, because of the faecal coliform levels (amount of cow shit, basically). Some dairy farmers are good guys, some more are reasonable, but some are contemptuous bastards who are essentially shitting in YOUR underpants and making money from it. Aren't you angry about that? Or do you like it?
kiwitub (8 )
6:21 pm, Tue 3 Nov
)
6:21 pm, Tue 3 Nov
Steve, good to hear from you. lucid and to the point as usual.
9:54 am, Thu 5 Nov
All credit to you, but this is the most expensive peice of shit I have ever seen.
peterscaletti (182 )
9:46 pm, Tue 3 Nov
)
9:46 pm, Tue 3 Nov
You should see our city art gallery.
10:27 am, Thu 5 Nov
*
10:28 am, Thu 5 Nov
Hi there! Am I the first one to ask you if you can create sculptures for all the ministers in govt using different manure media and sell them on trademe? Say, Rodney in dog po*, English in cat s**t,...that'll be interesting! Good luck on your trade! Cheers
okidoc123 (50 )
9:51 am, Wed 4 Nov
)
9:51 am, Wed 4 Nov
*
10:28 am, Thu 5 Nov
*
10:33 am, Thu 5 Nov
So appropriate. At the end of the day all polititions become immortalised in great steaming wads of highly concentrated bullshit. Talk about pollishing a turd! :) Great stuff. You're my hero of the day.
gusplank (56 )
2:32 pm, Wed 4 Nov
)
2:32 pm, Wed 4 Nov
The awful thing is that we put them there.
10:35 am, Thu 5 Nov
Nice work. I have never trusted Nick Smith and as ACC and Conservation minister he is truly frightening.
I do like the concept of Rob Muldoon in pigshit and urge you to do it. I would happily be your patron for that one. He himself shat on so many (including those in denial) and it would be great to see a 'Mahon' return the favour.
Congratulations for this one!
whodis (142 )
8:05 pm, Wed 4 Nov
)
8:05 pm, Wed 4 Nov
I had a fair go at Muldoon in 'My father's shadow' along with Douglas and even dear Geoffrey Palmer. It's an awful thing but pragmatism seems, eventually, to subsume everyone who enters politics. Malcolm Muggeridge was covering Gandhi's rise in India. He said there came a point when even that fragile little man of peace became embued with a sense that he was not of the earth. Perhaps we should make all of our politicians spend a couple of weeks each year working on a dairy farm.
10:51 am, Thu 5 Nov
The climate change carbon tax scam is load of shit. Even Al Gore has publicly admitted the effect of CO2 on the supposed "climate change" is less than half what he was originally stating. The "Climate change" agenda is the manifestation of corporate and political interests in taxing 6 billion humans for breathing. A huge stinking pile of shit and to have a sculpture of a NZ politician who represents this rubbish, a sculpture made out of shit, is very appropriate. Well done and good luck. :-)
pran (222 )
10:31 am, Thu 5 Nov
)
10:31 am, Thu 5 Nov
I do applaud Al Gore for being able to change his mind.
10:52 am, Thu 5 Nov
*
1:08 pm, Fri 6 Nov
This art is crap, but still better than a pile of rubbish on the floor!
raybinet (356 )
12:28 pm, Thu 5 Nov
)
12:28 pm, Thu 5 Nov
This is post-post-modernism.
1:09 pm, Fri 6 Nov
haha nice!! i am a full time sculptor www.kauricliffgallery.co.nz have a looksee! looks like rodney's in the crap!! bill english sculpture would be nice out of turkey shit? perch's at night somewhere and gobles all day..Regards tone
tone61 (268 )
2:14 pm, Thu 5 Nov
)
2:14 pm, Thu 5 Nov
:)
1:10 pm, Fri 6 Nov
Brilliant! Best article in the Dominion Post today, and of the most substance by far! You could cast sue bradford out of the residue from under her finger nails and in her hair, probably life sized.
wreakingball (69 )
5:24 pm, Thu 5 Nov
)
5:24 pm, Thu 5 Nov
Refer to the Sue Bradford response earlier. Cheers.
1:12 pm, Fri 6 Nov
We're still singing your songs, it was a great concert. Please come back and bring the fiddle player. Music is the antidote for the dross of politics.
1:15 pm, Fri 6 Nov
A superb concept for sculpture. Art should make people think - this does that.
Hope you still get some fishing in on some of the rivers which have not been rogered by irrigators or Fonterra shareholders.
granden (25 )
10:38 pm, Thu 5 Nov
)
10:38 pm, Thu 5 Nov
I was imagining boiling a billy of tea on a riverbed where the river no longer existed and wondering why it would not be the same. The drifting of water is all I want. I don't need a fishing rod or a canoe to enjoy it. And unfortunately this puts me at the bottom of the list of stakeholders whenever we present under RMA rules.
1:18 pm, Fri 6 Nov
I do apologize for using this media for personal reasons (saves me writing in the statement). I am off tomorrow for 3 weeks in Indonesia, all the best for the Auction, I was blown off at $2200 Let me know if you want to build the 'Rat Zapper' Circuit I sent you, I have a deft hand with the soldering Iron. Best for you both Mike, Kev has the stainless
daryl19 (82 )
12:05 am, Fri 6 Nov
)
12:05 am, Fri 6 Nov
I know what you're doing, you dog. You're investing that money into a post-laboris lapse into the arms of a dusky maiden on the untroubled shores of a distant beach with nothing but the gentle pulse of the infinite ocean in your ears. Either that or you are just stingy. Happy days.
1:25 pm, Fri 6 Nov
Hi the bar manager as just text me saying she does not want this anymore and to see if you will remove her top bid if it doesn't receive another bid. Sorry i will not be letting her use this again. Go in and make her shout you a wine :)
calendargirls (5 )
8:52 am, Fri 6 Nov
)
8:52 am, Fri 6 Nov
Hi. I've made a request to trade me so it should work out. But hey, Nick is going to be so dissappointed; the last time a group of beautiful women took this kind of intense interest in him was back in the 1950s, at the Rangiora plunket rooms.
2:20 pm, Fri 6 Nov