Artbeat by warrenfeeney

Issue 19 July 2020

Exhibitions Galleries Studios Street Art Art in Public Places

Ōtautahi Christchurch Waitaha Canterbury

www.artbeat.org.nz

ARTBEAT In this issue: Te Wheke 01 Art of Protest 02 News, Events & Workshops 02 At the Galleries 03 Discover Map 04 Reviews 06

Te Wheke Pathways Across Oceania. Our Public Art Collection but not as we once knew It

Polynesia and the Pacific region, and migration and belonging are allocated centre-stage in Te Wheke Pathways Across Oceania, an exhibition that draws from works in the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū collection. It is exciting and enlightening experience developed by the Gallery’s curators in consultation with curator of Cook Islands heritage, Stephanie Oberg. Yet, in many ways Te Wheke Pathways Across Oceania is not entirely unanticipated or without precedent. Since its reopening in December 2015 the Gallery’s permanent collection has assumed a new-found life, rediscovered by its curatorial team who seem committed and excited about new ways of thinking about and experiencing favourite works. Lead curator Felicity Milburn acknowledges that like previous re-hangs of the collection, Te Wheke Pathways Across Oceania is about doing something that feels quite different. Gallery director Blair Jackson gave the curatorial team (Milburn, Ken Hall, Nathan Pohio, Peter Vangioni and former Head Curator Lara Strongman) the challenge of addressing and rethinking what had become a familiar experience of viewing the collection, beginning with its historical European works and working your way towards the

contemporary. Milburn comments: ‘We really wanted to re-imagine the Gallery’s spaces and we were also keen to bring in different perspectives. We were especially conscious that Māori and Pasifika artists’ work was under-represented in the collection and we really wanted to address that. Te Wheke became a catalyst for increasing that diversity through some really important acquisitions.’ Throughout this process, Milburn was aware of the tension between the desire of many Gallery visitors to see change and experience new works in the collection and the expectation of others to see familiar works – “old friends” that they wish to come back to. ‘It is always a challenge to do both those things at once. Like most public collections in

↑ John Pule Not of This Time (Dreamland), 2008. Oil on canvas. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, purchased 2019

← Grace Ngaputa Pera Matirita [chrysanthemum] c.1958. Tivaivaitataura. Collection of Pera family, Christchurch Artbeat

Issue 19, July 2020

Aotearoa New Zealand, the Christchurch Art Gallery’s had its origins in European works, particularly British works. The narrative of how those connections shaped our art history and subsequently led to the development of a New Zealand style has been told often, and we have frequently told it here from a Canterbury perspective, with regard to artists like Rita Angus.’ ‘It’s not the only story we can tell though, and for Te Wheke we wanted to see what would happen when we looked at the collection from another perspective, starting where we actually are, here in the Pacific. How could art help us make connections right across Oceania?’ ‘Over the last few years, we’ve tried hard to unpick some of those very linear narratives about New Zealand art history. For example, we’ve done that in relation to gender, reinserting female artists who played an important part in the development of our art history, but have been overlooked in its retelling, perhaps to make a more cohesive story. When histories are simplified or considered from only one perspective, you can lose a lot. For Te Wheke Pathways Across Oceania we wanted not only to feature those new works, but to incorporate familiar works people expect to see by presenting them in a different context.’ ‘Like most public art galleries in New Zealand, we don’t have a strong collection of customary Māori and Pacific art – traditionally that has been collected by museums, which in itself reflected the attitudes of the time. We saw real value in undercutting that artificial separation by juxtaposing the contemporary with the customary. We’ve needed the support of private collectors and institutions like Canterbury Museum to help us do that by generously lending some very significant pieces. We were very lucky to be able to work with Stephanie Oberg on the exhibition’s conceptual development, configuration and interpretation. She brought not only her connections with Pacific communities within Christchurch,

but wide knowledge and a different perspective.She helped us to look outside more traditional art histories and we found that really valuable.’ The new, central entrance to Te Wheke Pathways Across Oceania takes the gallery visitor into a space titled Hawaiki Tautau Atu, Hawaiki Tautau Mai: A Distance Draws Near. It’s a beginning that Milburn says is very much about honouring ancestral Polynesian homelands and early migrations across the Pacific: ‘Migration and a sense of belonging are themes that occur right across the exhibition. What you bring with you when you travel from one place to another, what you leave behind. What you create when you get here. Many of the artists in this show are creating hybrid forms that couldn’t have been made anywhere else but in Aotearoa New Zealand ‘ ‘One of the things that was important to our thinking around the show was acknowledging that the Western concept of a separation between past and present that can exist in a Western experience of the world isn’t necessarily part of the Māori or Pasifika world view. Instead, the past walks with you in the present. That’s something artists make real all the time,when their works connect past and present on an equal plane – and some works in Te Wheke do that really explicitly. ‘We are the Small Axe is a major new acquisition, a huge collaborative bark cloth work by Robin White (Aotearoa New Zealand (Ngāti Awa) /Kiribati) and Ruha Fifita (Tonga/ Aotearoa New Zealand). We are all pinching ourselves, it’s amazing to have this work in Christchurch and in the collection. Robin, a New Zealand artist of Māori and Pakeha heritage went to Kiribati in the early 1980s where she pursued her own arts practice, but was also interested in the art making being done in the villages, particularly by groups of women working together. That’s something that has continued over her practice in a range of places around the Pacific. Continues on page 3 01

The Art of Protest

writer Reuben Woods As protests have spread across the United States and the globe in response to the death of George Floyd and the long history of police brutality against black lives, there has been a notable visual aspect alongside the crowds of people: the art of protest. While there have been a number of legally produced projects, such as the memorial mural painted at the site of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the giant yellow text painted directly upon the newly named Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington DC, guerrilla graffiti and street art interventions have also appeared in streets around the world, including a train painted with graffiti reading ‘Please, I Can’t Breathe’ by the 1UP crew. In addition, in a more immediate accompaniment to the protests, alongside the physical presence of chanting bodies calling for change, placards and banners have featured

calls for action (“Defund the Police”), civil rights iconography, such as the raised fist symbol, and portraits of victims of police brutality. But perhaps most reflective of the urgency and anger of the protests has been the graffiti marking protest sites. Rather than the identity-centric hieroglyphic tags or dynamic pieces, this graffiti has been concerned with legible political declarations over style and aesthetics. In various scenes, backdrops have been covered with slogans such as ‘Black Lives Matter’, ‘ACAB’, ‘RIP George Floyd,’ ‘Say Her Name: Breonna Taylor’, and more, creating iconic images that capture the poignancy of this time in history. The plinths of monuments, many with ties to the injustice of colonialism and slavery, have been transformed by layers of paint, a reminder of the potential to change the world. Even

↑ Messages in support of the current protests sparked by the death of George Floyd appeared in Christchurch, such as this one on Colombo Street in the central city.

here in Christchurch, messages such as ‘George Floyd Rest in Power,’ and ‘All Power to th[e] People’ have been sprayed on walls. In the wake of the earthquakes and the March Terror Attacks, messages of a similar nature appeared, voices of dissent in times of upheaval. The tactical use of graffiti in such a way recognises the potential of writing on walls to endure beyond the dissipation of vocal cries, as well as the need to disrupt deeply entrenched systemic issues by attacking the façade of their control. In stereo, the chants, signs and graffiti form a swelling voice, refusing to be ignored. Graffiti and street art have always had the potential to make meaningful statements, either specifically, or through their method of intervention, questioning public and private space and declaring presence and identity in the face of neglect. However,

increasingly, street art as it is framed so often by now has for many become about the shiny, and ultimately palatable, act of beautification, even when conveying an important message. Of course, the relationship between muralism and gentrification has been a discussion point for some time, but now it seems even more important. Murals can raise meaningful issues, but their means of production often place them in a compromised position, especially in relation to the direct discourse of wall writing. Sometimes it takes a jarring urgency of voice, as an image of graffiti recently posted by international street art festival Nuart that declared: ‘We want change, not a ‘mural’’.

NEWS EVENTS & WORKSHOPS

Kaiapoi Art Expo 2020: A virtual exhibition replacing the annual Kaiapoi Art Expo cancelled due to the Covid19 lockdown has been greeted with enthusiasm by Waimakariri artists. Sponsored by Corcoran French Lawyers and supported by the Waimakariri Arts Trust, the Expo is held each year in July with over 5,000 visiting to see work by more than 100 artists. The virtual Kaiapoi Art Expo has been engineered by Martyn Cook, Business Manager of Kaiapoi Promotions Association who set up the online information guide to North Canterbury, the Waimak App. The Expo section, found on the App’s home screen, provides exhibition details and a signup form for artists. It went live 1 June with visitors able to browse and purchase works. It runs until 31 July: www.waimakapp.nz Open House. An Artist in Residence Project at Arts in Oxford In July and August Arts in Oxford Gallery is hosting a residency project, beginning with an evolving look at a print studio in action. Jo Ernsten is an expatriate artist recently returned from 20 years of arts teaching and practice in Sydney. She has teamed up with Arts in Oxford to promote contemporary ideas about creativity and community arts. Visit Arts in Oxford and see prints in progress, guest artists at work, ask questions and perhaps join in some of the processes. Part installation/exhibition and demonstration, works produced and displayed will evolve as the project develops. See: artsinoxford.com 02

Rekindle Workshops for children and adults: Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora Spoon-carving 4 July 10.30 – 1pm, Carve a spatula, 4 July, 2.30-4.30pm and 7 July, 6-8pm, Brush making, 11 July, 9am-12pm and 1-5pm, Spoon carving, 12 July, 10am2pm, Spoon Club, 14 July, 6-9pm, String & rope making, 19 July, 10am-11.30am, Basket weaving, 19 July, 12.30-4.30pm, Hand darning, 23 July, 6-7.30pm. New workshops being added in July: www.rekindle.org.nz/collections/ resourceful-workshops The Teece Museum of Classical Antiquities. A Digital Update in 2020: The Teece Museum now has an online blog, Potted Histories teecemuseum.nz/ blog/. Audio descriptions are included, providing new ways to experience the artifacts in the Logie Collection and make the collection more accessible, having been developed specifically with the needs of the vision impaired in mind. Led by UC graduates Amy Boswell-Hore and Natalie Looyer, this project is part of a move to increase accessibility and ensure The Teece reaches a diverse audience. Listen online at the Museum’s Youtube channel or the Museum’s web-pages teecemuseum.nz/collection/audio-descriptions/. Produced with the assistance of Christchurch City Council Libraries Tūranga AV staff and voiced by Naomi van den Broek.

Each copy of this month’s Artbeat includes a risograph poster from Posters for BLM a resource for images in support of the movement for change (follow @ posters_for_blm on Instagram for more information). As an open source project, posters can be downloaded and printed for fly-postering and protests for free. Please also consider contributing to the many charitable organisations supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. The posters were designed by Roydon Misseldine, Stephen Powers and Sara Froese. Posters printed by MK Press.

↑ Plaster cast copy of the Kritios Boy. After an original statue by sculptor Kritios, Athens Acropolis Museum (Inv. 689), ca 478 BCE. JLMC CC15 ←← Kaiapoi Art Expo in 2018

AT THE ↘ Miranda Parkes, Mary Magdalene Approaching the Sepulchre, from the Later Italian Painting series of collages, 2019-20, mixed-media on book pages.

Te Wheke Pathways Across Oceania Continued from page 1 ‘In recent years, Robin did a series of collaborations with Ruha, a young Tongan artist who grew up with the Tongan tapa tradition, ngatu. They are both interested in creating a new, hybrid form, honouring not only the physical technique involved in this kind of art making but also that sense of working communally and the idea that culture is passed down, not in big conversations, but in little, intimate ones. Tapa of course is often made for special occasions – a wedding or a really important meeting – so that sense of connection and communal purpose is intrinsic. This work has many domestic references [teapots, jars and jandals] but also relates to migration – the eels are the kind that travel vast distances. The title, We are the Small Axe, relates to a song by Bob Marley and the Wailers, “Small Axe.” It brings in the idea of grass roots protest, ‘we are the small axe, sharp and ready, ready to cut you down’.’ Grace Ngaputa Pera’s Matirita [chrysanthemum] is an amazing tivaevae work on loan from a local collection. One of the lovely things about Te Wheke Pathways Across Oceania is that it will unfold in several iterations. There are lots of works on paper that we will swap out, and the tivaevae will be changed so we will see different works come in.’ ‘We wanted to undercut the idea of separation between customary practices in the Pacific and the conceptualism that we often mistakenly attribute only to a Western idea of art making. Kelcy Taratoa, [whose

mural, Te Tāhū o ngā Maunga Tūmatakahuki is on the outer east wall of the Gallery as a welcome to Te Wheke Pathways Across Oceania] talks about customary work and its symbolism and that is one of the things that we have lost in the narrow colonial reading of those customary practices, that depth inside them and their richness. The people who were documenting them in the 19th century were looking from outside the culture and so they recorded things like whakairo as patterns rather than as objects that had important meanings embedded in the shapes that were chosen.’ ‘John Pule’s Not of this Time (Dreamland), is an abstraction of forms, something we’re familiar with seeing in contemporary work but often miss in customary works. (page 1). The blue spaces in Not of this Time (Dreamland) can be an ocean, with islands, but John has also talked about it being like clouds forming a huge big sky and as a space of imagination. What is particularly lovely about John’s work is it is often about this sense of connection. Vine-forms connect across the work, linking people and places across time. That’s an idea that goes right through Te Wheke Pathways Across Oceania.’

↑ Also featured in Te Wheke Pathways across Oceania is Russell Clark’s View from the Pier, 1964, grouped in the section: I Tawehiti Rā Anō From Distant Shores. ‘The seas of Oceania are like vast pathways; ever present reminders of distant shorts.’ Russell Clark, View From the Pier, 1964. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū; purchased 1986

Te Wheke Pathways Across Oceania, Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū Cnr Worcester Boulevard and Montreal Street Until 23 May 2022

Kara Burrowes, Lockdown Series 25320201159

↓ Kara Burrowes, Wood II, 2020, recycled timber and spray paint

New works from Kara Burrowes at Chambers Gallery in July touch upon the visible influence of time, place and circumstances in Lockdown Series 25320201159, a title that needs no explanation. Yet, although a shift in terms of materials and the working of surfaces, in Burrowes' attention to the surfaces she manipulates and refines, there remains a heightened awareness about abstraction as a language that broaches the line, structure and visual weight of each image and its potential for narratives

connected to the histories of the artist’s found materials. Where previous works asserted a physical presence in the space of the gallery through Burrowes’ latticed orchestration of reclaimed wood, works in the current exhibition are more outwardly subtle and refined. If previous works sometimes appeared to be mischievously loud in reaching out for attention, in Lockdown Series 25320201159 they are no less welcoming, just more reserved about the invitation that they are making. Burrowes comments that mark making is equally at the forefront of these new works. ‘White panels were etched and drawn into using multiple layers of plaster, sanded and etched to reveal a history of marks…. Wanting to make use of existing reclaimed materials from my garage, I cut and assembled, using the same neutral white tones but accenting with colours seen from the deck of my house every day, in particular, the sunrises.’

Kara Burrowes, Lockdown Series 25320201159 Chambers Gallery, 241 Moorhouse Avenue 23 June - 11 July Artbeat

Issue 19, July 2020

↘↘ Nigel Buxton, Mars Red, 2020, oil on gesso on board, 240 x 200mm ↘↘↘ Keren Oertly, Soft Landscape Series/That Which the Mountain Gives, 2020, Hand woven rug with donated, salvaged or swapped materials from Õtautahi, Aotearoa ↘↘↘↘ Elfi Spiewack & Doc Ross, Untitled, collaborative work. ↘↘↘↘↘ Component, Leopard, 2020, stencil print. ↘↘↘↘↘↘ Fiona Tunnicliffe, Waifs and Strays, 2020, ceramic.

Though they look naïve and spontaneous, Parkes’ paintings stem from a close study of art history. At university she studied the interface between painting and sculpture – particularly the installations of Canadian artist Jessica Stockholder, which are like exploded paintings the viewer can walk around in. Virginia Were on Miranda Parkes’ paintings in Art News. artnews.co.nz/spring-2007-profile/ Jonathan Smart Gallery, Miranda Parkes, Relationship Status, until 1 August Nigel Buxton expresses 'interiors' or 'still life' with a strong sense of his presence. His gestures and his positioning in the room and time spent are all very evident and in Drape he presents paintings in the tradition of trompe l'oeil, works that persuade us to accept their illusions. Paint modelled on flat surfaces trick us into believing we see draped fabric in three dimensions. Drapes have long been props within his studio and in these large-scale works they claim a deliberate presence in their own right. Printmaker Marian Maguire on Nigel Buxton’s paintings. Nigel Buxton, Drape, PGgallery192, until 17 July Artist Eve Barlow invited fellow artists to complete, amend, paint over, re-arrange or otherwise “rectify” unfinished or unresolved works by the artist within the parameters of their own practice or explorations. Barlow says: "It has been three years since I first broached the ideas with various artists I know and it has been a really interesting process to see the different approaches and different responses to the whole notion of rectifying one of my works.” Rectify This Painting is accompanied by a catalogue and short video clips of contributing artists.” Rectify This Painting, City Art Depot 14 July to 3 August The exhibition Unearthed is my response through my jewellery to Doc Ross’s atmospheric documentary photographs. Elfi Spiewack describes the collaboration between both artists. Elfi Spiewack & Doc Ross, Unearthed, The National, until 18 July Widely respected as one of New Zealand's leading street artists, Component has over twenty years of experience in the world of urban art, perfecting the craft of layered stencil artwork. Born and raised in Auckland, his themes often draw on issues of social justice and community, but also revel in technical details and process, as evident in the intricately hand-cut stencil Leopard. Reuben Woods on Component. Stock Room Hang with new editions from Dr. Suits, Tom Gerrard (AUS) and Component (Auckland), Fiksate, until 31 July I obviously had a misspent youth dragging my family around zoos, aquariums and anywhere that I could observe and photograph animals. There is still a lot to learn, both about form and clay, and I love the evolution that happens when you combine them. The properties that cause clay to warp and crack and move in response to heat make it my favourite medium to work with. Fiona Tunnicliffe on her work. Waifs and Strays, Form Gallery, 8 – 28 July

GALLERIES

DISCOVER

Public Art in the Four Avenues

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Thomas Woolner, (founding member of the Pre-Raphaelites) John Robert Godley Statue, 1867, Cathedral Square

William Tretheway, Citizen’s War Memorial, c. 1936, Cathedral Square

George Frampton, (Arts and Crafts movement 19th century), Industry and Concord, c. 1882, cnr Oxford Terrace and Worcester Boulevard

Riki Manuel, Poupou, 1994, Victoria Square

Pat Hanly, Rainbow Pieces, 1974, Christchurch Town Hall Foyer

Monument / Sculpture Lady Kathleen Scott (wife of Robert Falcon Scott), Scott Statue, 1917, cnr Worcester Boulevard and Oxford Terrace

Coalbrookdale Foundry, Shropshire, Peacock Fountain, 1911, Botanic Gardens

Paul Dibble, E Noho Ra De Chirico, 1995, Robert McDougall Art Gallery, Botanic Gardens

Phil Price, Nucleus, 2006, cnr High and Manchester streets

Regan Gentry, Flour Power, 2008, cnr High and Colombo streets

Anton Parsons, Passing Time, 2010/11, High Street entrance to Ara Institute of Canterbury

Julia Morison, Tree Houses for Swamp Dwellers, 2013, Ōtakaro-Avon River, cnr Colombo and Kilmore streets

David McCracken, Diminish and Ascend, 2014, Kiosk Lake, Botanic Gardens

Sēmisi Fetokai Potauaine, VAKA 'A HINA, 2019, Rauora Park, 115 Lichfield Street

Street Art Murals

Judy Millar, Call me Snake, 2015, cnr Manchester and Armagh streets

Mischa Kuball, Solidarity Grid, 2013/15, Park Terrace, entrance to Hagley Park

Nathan Pohio, Raise the anchor, unfurl the sails, set course to the centre of an ever setting sun! 2015, Harper Avenue

Peter Atkins, Under Construction – Chaos and Order (Re-imagined), 2014/19, 148 Gloucester Street

Seung Yul Oh, Conduct Cumulus, 2017, Southern Quadrangle, Arts Centre

Antony Gormley, Stay, 2015/16, Northern Quadrangle Arts Centre, Ōtakaro-Avon River between Worcester Boulevard and Gloucester Street

Askew One (Elliot O’Donnell) (NZ) – Kristen, 2013, 162 Gloucester Street

Rone (Aus), Untitled, 2013, 105 Worcester Street

Adnate (Aus), Untitled (Giving Hands), 2015, 132 Kilmore Street

ROA (Belgium), Untitled, 2013, Canterbury Museum, 11 Rolleston Avenue Chimp (NZ), Organic Matters, 2018, Justice & Emergency Services Precinct, 44 – 52 Lichfield Street

Jacob Yikes (NZ), Untitled (Alice in Videoland), 2017, 201 Tuam Street Kevin Ledo (Canada), Whero O Te Rangi Bailey, 2017, 128 Armagh Street Wongi ‘Freak’ Wilson (NZ), Rauora Park, 2018, Rauora Park, 214 Manchester Street

Ampparito (Spain), Untitled, 2017, 30 Allen Street

Tilt (France), Untitled, 2015, 51 Victoria Street

Absolution Highlights from Garden City Vol 1 - Various Artists, Arts Centre of Christchurch, 2 Worcester Boulevard, CHCH, Mon–Sun 10–6pm Aigantighe Gallery Sue Tennent, Distant Lands, until 26 Jul, Insights, gallery collection, ongoing, 49 Wai-Iti Rd, Maori Hill, Timaru, Tue-Fri 10-4pm Sat-Sun 12-4pm Arca Gallery Bespoke jewellery and small-scale artworks, until 31 Jul, 127a Hackthorne Road, Cashmere, CHCH, Tue–Sat, 11–4pm Art Hole Simone Bensdorp, URBAN EARTH, (textiles), 8 – 11 Jul, 10am - 4pm, Heather Milne, Routine Isolation: Pictures in Small Towns, (photographs), 14 - 18 Jul, 10am-2pm, Irenie How, The Quality of Ordinary Life, 21 – 25 Jul, 10am – 5pm 22 – 25 Apr, 336 St Asaph Street, CHCH Art on the Quay Russ Campbell, Life’s Journey, until 8 Jul, Sacred Light by students of Nemesh, 9 Jul – 12 Aug, 176 Williams Street, Kaiapoi, Mon–Wed, Fri 9–5pm, Thu to 9pm, Sat 10–2pm, Sun 1–4pm

Arts in Oxford Vantage Point, until 5 Jul, Open House - Artist in Residence Project, 10 Jul - 13 Sep, Arts in Oxford Gallery, Main Street, Oxford, Tue-Thu 11am-2pm, Fri-Sun 10-4pm. Closed Mon & Public Holidays Ashburton Art Gallery Ben Lysaght, Once a Wilderness, Anthony Davies, Disrupted Space, until 31 Jul, 327 West St, Ashburton, Mon-Sun 10-4pm Wed to 7pm Bryce Gallery Artists include: Paintings by Don McAra and Clare Wilcox, 84 Vicenza Drive, Ohoka RD2 Kaiapoi, Mon-Fri 10-5pm, SatSun 11-4pm Canterbury Museum Moana Currents: Dressing Aotearoa Now, until 6 Sep, Ancient New Zealand: Squawkzilla and the Giants, prehistoric New Zealand, Luke Jerram and Hannah Beehre, Our Moon: Then, now and beyond, opens 3 Jul, Rolleston Avenue, CHCH, Mon–Sun 9–5pm Catalogue Irenie How, When I’m not Sleeping, TBC, Penny Lane, 430 Colombo Street, Mon–Fri 8am–5.30pm, Sat 9am– 5.30pm, Sun 10am– 5pm Chamber Gallery Rangiora Anjie Connon, ‘I Do’, 5 Jul –

BEALEY AVE

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SALISBURY ST

PETERBOROUGH ST

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COLOMBO ST

WORCESTER ST

16 GLOUCESTER ST

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MANCHESTER ST

ROLLESTON AVE

GLOUCESTER ST

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WORCESTER ST

HEREFORD ST

CASHEL ST

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DURHAM ST

STANMORE RD

MADRAS ST

LICHFIELD ST

FITZGERALD AVE

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12 Aug, 141 Percival Street, Rangiora, Mon–Thu 9–5pm, Fri 9–7pm, Sat 10–2pm, Sun 1–4pm 12

Chambers Gallery Andrew Craig and Kara Burrowes, until 11 Jul, Ellie Gray, Rudolf Boelee and Sarah Garland, 14 Jul – 1 Aug, 241 Moorhouse Ave, CHCH, Tue–Thu 11–5.30pm Fri–5pm Sat–2pm

Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū Gathering Clouds, until 7 Sep, Uncomfortable Silence, until 19 Jul, Louise Henderson, From Life, until 11 Oct, Te Wheke: Pathways Across Oceania, until 23 May 2022, cnr Worcester Boulevard and Montreal Street, CHCH, Mon–Sun 10–5pm Wed late to 9pm

City Art Depot Francis van Hout, The Rolling Moon, until 8 Jul, Eve Barlow and friends (Jason Ware, Clare Logan, Doc Ross, Rebecca Stewart, Sharnae Beardsley, Jacquelyn Greenbank, Kim Lowe, Shannon Williamson, Alexandra Porter and others) , Rectify This Painting, 14 Jul – 3 Aug, 96 Disraeli St, Sydenham, CHCH, Mon–Fri 8.30–5pm, Sat 10–2pm

CoCA Toi Moroki Westfarbe, (touring group exhibition), until 19 Jul, Malcolm

Hamish Allan, until 31 July, 53 Nayland Street, Sumner, Christchurch, Tue-Fri 11-5pm Sat/Sun 12-5pm

Terry, SIDEWAYS, until 16 Aug, 66 Gloucester Street, CHCH, Tue–Sun 10–5pm, Sat–Sun to 4pm

Fiksate Stock Room Hang with new editions from Dr. Suits, Tom Gerrard (AUS) and Component (Auckland), 165 Gloucester Street, CHCH, Tue–Wed 10–2.30pm, Thu 10–5pm, Fri 10–8pm, Sat 11–4pm

Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery Toney Su, Treasure of Nature Enlighten You, until 26 Jul, 2 Harakeke Street, Riccarton, CHCH, Tue–Sun 9–4pm

Form Gallery Fiona Tunnicliffe, Waifs and Strays, 8-28 Jul, 468 Colombo St, Sydenham, CHCH, Tue-Sat 10–5pm

Ilam Campus Gallery Kim Lowe, The Silence of the Brush, (Olivia Spencer Bower recipient), 17 Jul – 14 Aug, Fine Arts Lane, off Clyde Rd, Ilam, CHCH, Mon–Fri 9–4pm

Jonathan Smart Gallery Miranda Parkes, Relationship Status, 2 Jul – 1 Aug, 52 Buchan Street, Sydenham, CHCH, Wed–Sat 11–5pm LEstrange Gallery Container Artists 8th annual group exhibition includes: Nigel Brown, Alison Erikson,

CHCH, Tue–Fri 10.30–5pm Sat 10.30-2pm 28

Little River Gallery Ashley Smith, Islands, 4 – 29 Jul, Christchurch Akaroa Road, Mon–Sun 9am–5.30pm McAtamney Gallery 40A Talbot Street, Geraldine, Wed, Fri, Sat, Sun 10-3pm & by appointment NMG Judy Millar, Eleven, until Dec, Wynn Williams House, 47 Hereford St, CHCH, Tue-Sat 10 – 5pm Ng Space Group exhibition: Scott Flanagan, Brooke Georgia, Georgina May Young and Steven Junil Park, until 27 Aug, Level 1/212 Madras St, CHCH, Mon–Fri 10–5pm, Sat 10–4pm

Paludal Exhibition details and hours, instagram: paludal_chch 2 Papanui Road, CHCH PGgallery192 Nigel Buxton, Drape, and Marian Maguire, Squeeze & Meander, 30 Jun -17 Jul, Opening Mon 29 Jun 5:30, Grant Takle, AFTER SHOCK, 21 Jul - 14 Aug, Opening Mon 20 Jul 5:30, 192 Bealey Ave,

Stoddart Cottage Gallery Diamond Harbour Painting Group Unlocked: Free Expressions, 4 - 26 Jul. Weekends only, 10am-4pm, 2 Waipapa Ave, Diamond Harbour, Fri– Sun 10–4pm Studio 125 Gallery 7th Annual Exhibition, Heather Brown, In the Stillness, solo exhibitions by Simon Kaan and Josh O'Rourke, and a group exhibition, until 31 Jul, 125 Aikmans Road, Merivale, Wed- Sat 11am - 5pm and by appointment. Susan Badcock Gallery John Badcock, The Last Supper, John Badcock, Douglas Badcock, Susan Badcock, ongoing, 47 Talbot Street, Geraldine 7930, Tue-Sat 10-2pm Teece Museum of Classical Antiquities Fantastic Feasts: dine with the ancients, until 30 Aug, Arts Centre of Christchurch, 3 Hereford Street, CHCH, Wed – Sun 11am – 3pm The Central Art Gallery Emma Camden, Bing Dawe, Neil Dawson, Simon Edwards, Larisse Hall, Michael Hight, Jon Jeet, Kulimoe’anga Stone Maka, David Murray, Asher Newbery, Charrette Van

WANDER

TAT TOO PI E RCE

THROUGH NEW WORLDS

Ekelen, Fiona Van Oyen and Pete Wheeler, Sustaining the Local, until 19 Jul, Arts Centre of Christchurch, 2 Worcester Boulevard, CHCH, Wed – Sun 10-5pm 33

The National Elfi Spiewack & Doc Ross, Unearthed, 23 Jun -18 Jul, Lisa Walker, new works, 22 Jul-16 Aug, 249 Moorhouse Avenue, CHCH, Tue-Sat 10.30-5.30pm The Physics Room Daniel Shaskey, Luke Shaw, and Phoebe Hinchliff , Domino Domino, until 5 Jul, Eddie Clemens, Kiosk: Directors' Commentary, 11 Jul– 23 Aug, 301 Montreal Street, Registry Building, Arts Centre Te Matatiki Toi Ora, Tue-Fri 10-5pm, Wed to 9pm Tūranga Robyn Webster, The Labyrinth, (harakeke installation), until 2 Aug, 60 Cathedral Square, Mon–Fri 8am–8pm Sat–Sun 10–5pm Windsor Gallery Contemporary Gallery: 35 artists including Joel Hart, Matthew Williams, Cornelius (KEES) Bruin, Svetlana Orinko, Andris Apse, Mike Glover and Anneke Bester, 386 St Asaph St, Mon–Fri 9–5pm, Sat 10–1pm

Not Pictured in Map: 2. Aigantighe Gallery 3. Arca Gallery 5. Art on the Quay 6. Arts in Oxford 7. Ashburton Art Gallery 8. Bryce Gallery 11. Chamber Gallery 17. Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery 19. Ilam Campus Gallery 21. LEstrange Gallery 22. Little River Gallery 23. McAtamney Gallery 26. Paludal 28. Stoddart Cottage Gallery 29. Studio 125 Gallery 30. Susan Badcock Gallery No Current Listings: 37. Dilana 38. Eastside Gallery 39. Pūmanawa Community Gallery 40. XCHC 41. NZ Art Broker Artbeat is a monthly arts newspaper with news, reviews, commentary and listings of exhibitions and events in Ōtautahi Christchurch and Canterbury. We cover all aspects of the visual arts, inform existing audiences for the arts and develop new ones For news/advertising email: artbeatwebsite@gmail.com

Artbeat: ISSN 2624-2664

artist designed handcrafted rugs

OT H E R

archinedes garden series (square) by Chiara Corbelletto

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An Update: Subscribe & Support ARTBEAT Visual Arts Newspaper in July 2020 Launched in June the request for an annual subscription of $30 to support Artbeat was delayed due to the online set-up process. It is now in place. Go to the homepage artbeat.org. nz and to PayPal to subscribe and support Artbeat and enter a monthly draw for a gift valued at $100.00 from a local gallery.

Participating galleries kindly providing a monthly gift are: Absolution, Ashburton Art Gallery, Canterbury Museum, Chambers Gallery, City Art Depot, Fiksate Gallery, Jonathan Smart Gallery, PGgallery192, the Physics Room and SCAPE Public Art.

The monthly gift for Artbeat subscribers in July is from Fiksate Gallery artist, Jen Heads, Lockdown Thoughts, 2020, risograph print, 1/50, 420 x 297mm.

Artbeat

Issue 19, July 2020

REVIEWS

For extended reviews and content visit: www.artbeat.org.nz

Te Wheke Pathways Across Oceania writer Andrew Paul Wood A rehanging of the bread and butter display of the permanent collection is always going to be an event. It’s fascinating to see how the old (and new) favourites will be reinterpreted for the Zeitgeist, what gets retired and what’s brought out again. Te Wheke Pathways Across Oceania is unusual for such a hang in that it has opted for a distinct overall theme of culture(s) defined and connected by the Pacific – perhaps inspired by Epeli Hau’ofa’s idea of islands connected rather than separated by ocean. “Te wheke” means “octopus”, an intelligent and resilient creature that is familiar to all Pacific cultures, symbolic of voyaging. At its heart this is an exhibition that seeks to bypass a Eurocentric model of art history entirely. Rather strikingly for a New Zealand gallery, if you take the most direct route from the stairs and elevators, you enter the exhibition through a room of work by contemporary Pasifika artists – Grace Ngaputa Pera, Edith Amituanai, Sione Monu, Yuki Kihara, John Pule, Fatu Feu’u, Michel Tuffery, and a tapa collaboration between Robin White and Ruha Fifita – as well as historical artefacts by unknown creators, before you pass into the rest of the hang. It’s an unexpected initiation, but a logical one. The experience is loosely thematic but not in a constraining way, flowing from Māori whakairo made for Pākehā markets and Goldie and Lindauer portraits, Europeans in the Pacific and Pākehā modernists to Māori artists working within an international modern or contemporary aesthetic. Unlike more traditional hangs it is a bit difficult to just float around browsing as there

is a distinctly didactic, mediated feeling to the layout. Connections tend to be made for you rather than allowing you to make them for yourself. There is also the question of why some artists seem to be highlighted with their own space and multiple works – Gretchen Albrecht, Russell Clark and Phil Culbert loom large. Not that I’m mad about that, the selection of Clark’s works is wonderful and the 1958 mural, included because of its engagement with Pacific forms, a revelation, and Albrecht’s colourful stain works from the 1970s are delicious. It is also fantastic to see so many women artists collectively given their due: a generous helping of Lonnie Hutchinson, Cath Brown, Lisa Reihana, multiple Fiona Pardingtons, Edith Munnings, Margaret Stoddart, Olivia Spencer Bower, Pip Culbert, Evelyn Page, Ivy Fife, Doris Lusk, Vivian Lynn, to drop just a few of the names that caught the eye. There is a really good gender and ethnic balance to the entire exhibition that feels like it honours everyone appropriately with the right amount of awhi. Nor does Te Wheke shy away from challenging us with how fragile the ocean can be, and how dangerous. There are three photographs from Kentaro Yamada’s exquisite Tsunami series, reproducing screenshots of television news reports showing the 2011 tsunami striking Sendai, Japan, Ralph Hotere Aramoana paintings protesting a proposed aluminium smelter and Connie Samaras beloved 2005 video of a seal breaching the a hole in the Ross Ice Shelf and just breathing – perhaps the furthest fringe of the Pacific.

→ Robin White and Ruha Fifita, We are the small axe 2015. Natural dyes and pigments on bark-cloth. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, purchased 2019

I also recommend the accompanying publication; a solid, nuggety little book which will help you make sense of the overall pattern and act as an adjacent resource of images for memories of a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Te Wheke Pathways Across Oceania Curated by Ken Hall, Felicity Milburn, Nathan Pohio, Lara Strongman and Peter Vangioni with Stephanie Oberg Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū Corner Worcester Blvd and Montreal St 30 May 2020 – 23 May 2022

Anthony Davies Disrupted Space

↑ Anthony Davies, Plight of the Innocent Series II, 2015-16, linocut print 1/6

writer Warren Feeney An encounter with Anthony Davies’ prints, whether in a publication or the space of an art gallery, is always a wakeup call. The imagery of his work could not be further removed from popular sentiment or the misnomer that the visual arts are somehow removed from the reality of life. The English-born printmaker resident in Aotearoa New Zealand for more than 25 years makes prints that consistently confront us, (every time they are experienced) about the need for a commitment to personal responsibility for the state and well-being of others and the planet. Davies is a master printmaker, (an esteemed Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers) and knows about the history and potency of the print in Western art and its reputation for challenging social and political commentary. Yet, unlike his earliest predecessors, James Gillray (1756 – 1815) or William Hogarth, (1697 – 1764), don’t expect ironic commentary from him, famously Davies’ etchings, lithographs and lino prints do “bleak” rather than witty detached observation. Davies’ art is a reminder that the visual arts, at their best, are not seeking to be popular, rather he sources his imagery from our daily diet of local and international news, capturing our attention through films and photographs of natural and human-made disasters and tragedies, repositioning our act of regular media consumption to one of considering and taking responsibility. Disrupted Space at the Ashburton Art Gallery is a survey of sorts of his practice, bringing together two series of prints, Surveillance, linocuts from 2014 of surveillance stills from security cameras and CCTV

video stills, and prints from Plight of the Innocent, I and II, 2015-16, two series of images drawing from Reuter and television news, encompassing subjects that include global industrialisation and its damage and harm to the natural world and humanity, (with special attention to the young and elderly) crowded and constrained in an industrial world that by necessity is identified as home. Disrupted Space is a timely and important reminder that the visual arts are not the voice of accepted opinions, or good-news announcements and happy endings. Rather, Davies prints confront us with open-ended questions, providing a perspective on our ways of thinking and reminding us of who we are and what we represent.

Anthony Davies, Disrupted Space Ashburton Art Gallery 327 West Street 11 June – 31 July

Kelcy Taratoa: Wānanga. A Space for Deep Philosophical Discussion The invitation to the Christchurch Art Gallery te Puna o Waiwhetū’s new take on its collection, Te Wheke Pathways Across Oceania is celebrated on the east wall of its building and the wall above the foyer with two new works by Kelcy Taratoa (Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāti Raukawa). On the east wall on Worcester Boulevard is Te Tāhū o ngā Maunga Tūmatakahuki (voyage and exploration) and above the foyer, Whakatakina te Waiwhetū (to pursue the many stars reflected in the sacred spring). Lead curator Felicity Milburn describes their associated themes: ‘Belonging and connection were a starting point for Kelcy Taratoa, working with the support of mana whenua, including Nathan Pohio, to ground the work in local narratives that relate to discovery and whakapapa.’ As large-scale works that welcome us into Ōtautahi Christchurch’s public gallery they share in the spirit of three earlier murals by Taratoa in Tauranga Art Gallery’s atrium from October 2019 to welcome visitors to the gallery and its survey exhibition of the artist’s paintings, Who Am I? Episode 001. Collectively titled, Te Kore, te-wiwia: A Space Without Boundaries the murals represented possible ways to respond to and address the question in the exhibition’s title. Taratoa acknowledges that he engaged with each gallery’s architecture and the significance of their structures as cultural vessel housing our cultural artefacts. ‘My role is to create a work that connects specifically to the community, that calls out to and invites the community to come in and engage, like the kaikaranga (a call of welcome) reaches out and welcomes the visitors onto the marae.’ ‘I considered the Christchurch Art Gallery wall as I did the Tauranga Art Gallery’s atrium walls as a veil that is thin and allows us to slip into and even through, like ‘te ārai’. This links back to tukutuku as te ira atua, the realm of the gods, a space for wānanga deep philosophical discussion and to ponder beliefs, knowledge and history. Te Tāhū o ngā Maunga Tūmatakahuki’ makes a link for Māori back to

Tahiti and beyond. But it is grounded in the local history of the haukāinga, Ngai Tūāhuriri, and Ngāi Tahu and Ari te Uru tradition. It makes reference to Oceania, but is grounded to Te Waipoumanu through the prominent inclusion of Aoraki.’ In their symbolism, themes and imagery they encompass an ongoing conversation from Taratoa with his love and respect for European abstract painting. Taratoa says that tukutuku is a means ‘to explore a conceptual, philosophical and spiritual space where rich layers of meaning attributed to the natural world have been abstracted into geometric

Heather Milne: Isolation as an Everyday Occurrence at Art Hole Light isolates objects. Geography isolates towns. As a country, we addressed isolation through different levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Routine Isolation photographer Heather Milne addresses the idea of isolation as an everyday occurrence in rural New Zealand. The exhibition includes photography from collections: Rapaki 2019, Rakaia 2019, Ellesmere/Bushfire 2020, Arthur's Pass, 2020

Heather Milne: Isolation as an Everyday Occurrence Art Hole, 336 St Aspah Street Opening Tues July 14, 5:30pm. 14 to 18 July

↑ Kelcy Taratoa, Te Tāhū o ngā Maunga Tūmatakahuki, 2020. Acrylic paint on wall. Commissioned by Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū

shapes and formulated into patterns.’ In the early decades of the 20th century, the idea of pure abstraction in European art was also a means to explore philosophical questions with Russian artist Vassily Kandinsky, (1866 – 1944) raising important questions about his painting: ‘Just ask yourself whether the work has enabled you to walk about into a hitherto unknown world. If the answer is yes, what more do you want?’ Taratoa maintains that the marae and whare tipuna (meeting house) are spaces that have always been places for discussion and debate about where you belong and

who you are. ‘In Māori visual art traditions nature is abstracted. Māori art operates within a conceptual framework where it is not necessary to represent nature literally. Rather it is the concept of nature which is present - allowing for a more open philosophical space where meaning is not fixed within representation.’ Te Wheke Pathways Across Oceania Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū Cnr Worcester Boulevard and Montreal Street

→ Heather Milne, Rakaia 2, 2020

↓ Luke Jerram, MOON, Photo: John-Paul Pochin, Light Ltd, courtesy of the Nelson Provincial Museum

Luke Jerram’s Moon and Hannah Beehre’s Tunnel take us into Outer Space In Our Moon: Then, Now and Beyond British artist Luke Jerram’s MOON installation, a four-metre orb wrapped in high-definition imagery of the moon’s surface, is the centrepiece of this new exhibition at Canterbury Museum. Our Moon also includes the return of Hannah Beehre’s 2018 installation Tunnel, featured in SCAPE Public Art’s programme. Tunnel uses mirrors, velvet and Swarovski crystals to create the experience of walking through outer space. Our Moon: Then, Now and Beyond is presented by Nelson Provincial Museum in partnership with Rātā Foundation, Cawthron Institute and the Embassy of the USA.

Artbeat

Issue 19, July 2020

Our Moon: Then, Now and Beyond Canterbury Museum, Rolleston Avenue Opens 3 July 07

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CAMPBELL CONSERVATION conservator of works on paper Lynn Campbell is a Fine Art paper conservator and art restorer who works in Christchurch, New Zealand. She has worked at the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh and tutored at Northumbria University and one of the first conservators to go to Antarctica as part of the New Zealand Antarctic programme. B.A. Honours in Fine Art and Post Graduate Certificate in Fine Art Conservation, training in the UK.

Campbell Conservation are happy to discuss any of your restoration and conservation needs

27 June – 11 October | Free entry Jointly developed by Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū and Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki. Image: Louise Henderson Garden (detail) 1977. Oil on canvas. Private collection, Wellington

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