A Micronaut in the Wide World

This is the story of a micronaut. Artist, designer and illustrator Graham Percy travelled far and built a career on the closely observed detail. Born in Taranaki in 1938, Percy spent apprentice years in Auckland before moving to London, where with his photographer-partner Mari Mahr he created a workshop-home, a microcosm of the outside world. Here fellow-venturer Gregory OBrien presents an account of Graham Percys life and art, by way of motorbike and hot-air balloon, through sketches and bookshelves, touching on childhood losses and adult nostalgia. Including some of Percys most compelling drawings, A Micronaut in the Wide World showcases his early design work, vivid childrens book illustration and thriving mature art. The drawings reveal Percys passion for the small and hand-drawn; convey quirky remembered and imagined histories; and feature a cast of curious characters, from storks and trainee running targets to Commedia dellArte characters and illustrious composers. In its vivid, exuberant detail alphabets and elephants, red lettuces and homesick kiwi, the Hungarian navy and the starry skies of the southern hemisphere A Micronaut in the Wide World is a stimulating rediscovery of a remarkable artist.