The Artist – Ruban Nielson
“My Dad likes to claim that I told him I was an artist when I was three years old. I self-published two comic books at primary school, Zoid and Spray. The teachers told me I wasn’t allowed to do any more because the content was too violent. My parents were called into school to discuss my disturbing artwork, in particular a picture of a skull-faced assassin in rags who stood in fire surrounded by severed heads on spikes. At highschool I took up graffiti and spent a couple of years learning how to do that while still doing comics. I stayed out all night creating more artwork. Later on I discovered fine art and began painting and eventually studied it at Elam School of Fine Art. While at art school I started a punk band called the Mint Chicks with my brother and designed posters and record covers for it. The band took over my life and after graduating Elam I started touring and recording with the band rather than pursuing the art career I thought would be inevitable. While in the band I took on a job as assistant to the abstract painter Stephen Bambury and learned an amazing amount about art and how an artist can exist in the world. Today I continue to do art for the Mint Chicks and a very few other chosen projects. Coming from a family of musicians, I still consider myself a visual artist more than a musician.”
Britten V1000
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Britten V1000 is a handbuilt race motorcycle designed and built by John Britten and a group of friends in Christchurch, New Zealand during the early 1990s. The bike went on to win the Battle of the Twins in Daytona, USA and set a number of world speed records.
The bike was designed from first principles and hosts a number of innovations including extensive use of carbon fibre, the radiator located under the seat, double wishbone front suspension, frameless chassis and engine data logging.
A total of 10 Britten V1000s were produced by the Britten Motorcycle Company and now exist in collections and museums around the world.
Renowned motorcycle journalist Alan Cathcart said of the bike:
“It’s an easy bike to ride, in the sense it’s got a very wide power delivery, but to really get top performance, you have to ride it like a grand prix bike.
And having ridden all the superbike contenders in the world today, I can say that the Britten is the closest to a grand prix bike. It’s incredibly ironic that instead of Europe or Japan, the most sophisticated and technically advanced motorcycle in the world comes from New Zealand..”
Ruben's artwork for the 2010 NZ CMJ Showcase.
