6 September, 2026

Home is where the art is – and beloved pets

Animals are a key element of home life… Linda Gair with paintings of pets Baker and Mushda

Through the creation of unique artworks, fourteen artists have responded to the question, “What does home mean to you?” in Lake House Arts Centre’s latest exhibition: “Home”.
The exhibition was curated in response to interviews with Lake House supporters which were turned into live performance by arts group “Whiskey & Boots”, Lake House Arts Centre Manager Grae Burton said.
Four of the 14 exhibiting artists had their responses included in the performance, A rolling 15-minute summation of the live performance will be shown at the exhibition.
One of the “Home” exhibiting artists, Linda Gair, spoke to the Rangitoto Observer about her paired works, known as a diptych, which feature family pets: Baker the dog in “Waiting Impatiently” and Mushda the cat in “Waiting Patiently”.
“For me, home isn’t about the ‘stuff’ you own—it’s the ‘people’, both two-legged and 4-legged. It’s that comfort, that warmth of knowing where you belong, the security and that sense of belonging that a home provides,” Gair said.
Gair paints in acrylics, nearly always on wood, with “Waiting Impatiently” and “Waiting Patiently” on vintage plywood.
“In a way, the ‘pets’ are painted in a recognisable version of my painting style, but I have never painted animals before.”

Gair said the challenge was capturing the animals’ personalities in their likenesses, adding that her daughter agreed she had succeeded. The paintings are framed by matching bungalow window frames.
Graduating from Elam School of Fine Art in photography, Gair worked with this medium for more than 20 years before picking up a paintbrush. She became a member of Lake House Arts Centre in 2003 the showing paintings in the exhibition “Room With A View” in the Becroft Gallery.
“Quite coincidentally, those works were also framed in vintage villa and bungalow windows and old moulded window architraves. So this work, in a way, feels like I’ve come full-circle.”
“I can see my photography skills in my paintings and the discipline of being able to balance a work.”
Gair said her “Home” works are not only about the occupants, but also the architecture and “vintage” of the home and its setting.
Gair hopes exhibition visitors smile when they see her diptych: “Not just on the inside, but visibly as well, because anybody who has – or has had – a pet will know that ‘longing look’ they give you when waiting for you to pay them attention or are awaiting your return to them.”
• “Home” is exhibiting now in the Becroft Gallery at Lake House Arts Centre until 17 September.

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