PIP GALLERY
(Behind the shops)
300 Main Road, Kumeū, Auckland.
24 January - 26 February, 2025.
(Behind the shops)
300 Main Road, Kumeū, Auckland.
24 January - 26 February, 2025.
(L). Deep retrieval, 2024. Paint and mediums on board, 900 mm x 1200 mm.
(R). Palimpsest, 2024. Paint and mediums on board, 800 mm x 1220 mm.
(R). Palimpsest, 2024. Paint and mediums on board, 800 mm x 1220 mm.
(L). Undone (but okay), 2024. Paint and mediums on board, 900 mm x 1200 mm.
(R). Miscellanea, 2024. Paint and mediums on board, 800 mm x 1220 mm.
(R). Miscellanea, 2024. Paint and mediums on board, 800 mm x 1220 mm.
UNPACKING
(Selected works from my 2024 solo show)
Boxes are designed to keep the contents safe. Yet, while sorting through family belongings stored in various boxes made from cardboard, I noticed each one had deteriorated, endangering the items inside. The damaged packaging jeopardised the preservation of objects representing my family history and, subsequently, my sense of self. I made these artworks using methods and materials that capture my feelings of concern in this context.
As an expression of body-held and felt memory, each painting expresses what it means to show care through movement. By applying mediums with sponges and cloths in slow and soft mark-making motions—layers of thin and thick paint have formed from the residues of added and subtracted material. In this manner, I have explored ideas of fragility, durability, and time’s cumulative and degradational effects. Parallels emerged between my body, the boxes and the artwork—each a vulnerable vessel containing, safeguarding, and relinquishing precious contents.
Through making these paintings, I have given my body room to express a response to the physical and social conventions of archiving[1] as a necessary method of preserving and sustaining family connections, personal identity, and a sense of belonging[2].
[1] West, Gabrielle Emma-Jean. “Why Keep It If You Can’t See It!: An Investigation into Public and Professional Attitudes Towards Collection Care, Access and Utilisation in New Zealand Museums”. Open Access Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington, January 1, 2011.
https://doi.org/10.26686/wgtn.16992898.
[2] Woodham, Anna, Laura King, Liz Gloyn, Vicky Crewe, and Fiona Blair. 2017. “We Are What We Keep: The ‘Family Archive’, Identity and Public/Private Heritage.” Heritage & Society 10 (3): 203–20. doi:10.1080/2159032X.2018.1554405. 203.
(Selected works from my 2024 solo show)
Boxes are designed to keep the contents safe. Yet, while sorting through family belongings stored in various boxes made from cardboard, I noticed each one had deteriorated, endangering the items inside. The damaged packaging jeopardised the preservation of objects representing my family history and, subsequently, my sense of self. I made these artworks using methods and materials that capture my feelings of concern in this context.
As an expression of body-held and felt memory, each painting expresses what it means to show care through movement. By applying mediums with sponges and cloths in slow and soft mark-making motions—layers of thin and thick paint have formed from the residues of added and subtracted material. In this manner, I have explored ideas of fragility, durability, and time’s cumulative and degradational effects. Parallels emerged between my body, the boxes and the artwork—each a vulnerable vessel containing, safeguarding, and relinquishing precious contents.
Through making these paintings, I have given my body room to express a response to the physical and social conventions of archiving[1] as a necessary method of preserving and sustaining family connections, personal identity, and a sense of belonging[2].
[1] West, Gabrielle Emma-Jean. “Why Keep It If You Can’t See It!: An Investigation into Public and Professional Attitudes Towards Collection Care, Access and Utilisation in New Zealand Museums”. Open Access Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington, January 1, 2011.
https://doi.org/10.26686/wgtn.16992898.
[2] Woodham, Anna, Laura King, Liz Gloyn, Vicky Crewe, and Fiona Blair. 2017. “We Are What We Keep: The ‘Family Archive’, Identity and Public/Private Heritage.” Heritage & Society 10 (3): 203–20. doi:10.1080/2159032X.2018.1554405. 203.