Barry Soper: What Jacinda Ardern's artwork says about her

COMMENT: It's been said of art that if everyone liked the same piece, the world would be a boring place. We'd all have the same thing hanging on our walls.

It's just as well that isn't the case because there's little chance that we'd have a Jacinda Ardern occupying pride of place above the mantelpiece. The most appropriate place for it would be being licked by the flames in the fireplace below.

The original "Doodle" on paper is a continuous swoop of circles beneath which the PM has printed "The political cycle." Now if it was mapping out the route taken by a cycle, you'd have to question the sobriety of the cyclist but if it was a depiction of politics, it's a mess.

They say there's one born every minute and that would be true of the top bidder on the Trade Me site so far for the piece at a thousand bucks with 38 mugs, at close of play yesterday, putting it on their watchlist. The money raised will go to what the organisers say is one of New Zealand's most historical and thriving creative spaces, supporting local artists in Whangarei.

One admirer of the work described it as very funny and a great effort, considering she had plenty of other things on her mind at the time of doing it - it shows!

But what it actually says about the artist is interesting if you look at the psycho analysis of someone who draws in circles. Circles we're told, depicted in this way, represent a need to find unity and peace. They can indicate someone who is struggling to draw everything together and make sense of it. After the year Ardern's had, you can certainly understand that.

The Political Cycle by Jacinda Ardern.

The shrinks go on to say that it can also indicate a strong intuitive sense that things are coming together to form a whole, whether that refers to relationships, or life in general. That'll be reassuring for Ardern as she puts her feet up on maternity leave.

And she'll feel comforted in the observation that since they're made with round movements, circles indicate a more passive feeling than angles. Perhaps the sharp angle of the JA signature on the piece is a realisation then, that it's only a matter of time before she's back on the job on the Beehive's 9th floor.

The final observation of her style will make the transition easier for her though with the shrink telling us circles are associated with feeling sociable, talkative and friendly, with a desire to be flexible and loving.

Surely Ardern couldn't have psycho analysed it better herself.